USC defeats Illinois 49-17 in Rose Bowl

In perhaps the biggest letdown of all the bowl match ups, the Fighting Illini of Illinois were demolished by the USC Trojans in the oldest of all bowl games, the Rose Bowl.

Going into the game, the Trojans were ranked at #7, but many experts and analysts believe that they could have easily been able to compete in the BCS Title Game. With a final score of 49-17, it was clear that Ron Zook’s Fighting Illini were no match for Pete Carroll and the Trojans.

For whatever reason, the Trojans got stuck facing the Illini since the Rose Bowl was shooting for a Pac-Ten vs. Big Ten match up. The victory insured the Trojans’ sixth straight season with at least 11 wins. They also locked up a Rose-Bowl record of 633 total yards, exemplifying their dominance even more.

"Everything that was out there for us, we took," Coach Carroll of USC said. "The rest of it is up for discussion. But would I love to still be playing right now? Sure would. We'd go out there any time, any place, any venue and throw our football out there and see what we could do."

Though USC did make an example out of Illinois, one positive that came out for the Illini was the tremendous performance by junior running back Rashard Mendenhall. Just minutes after the third quarter began, Mendenhall broke for a 79-yard rushing touchdown run to shorten the gap and make the score 21-10. In addition, Illinois received much contribution from their star quarterback Juice Williams, but the four turnovers that the team compiled put too much pressure on the offense.

"You can't turn the ball over," Zook said. "Whether they were forced or we weren't playing with consistency and the intensity you have to have, I'm not sure."

USC running back Joe McKnight also put up a stellar performance, and he even managed to recover a difficult lateral when Trojans quarterback John David Booty tossed him the ball. That play was probably the key to the game for USC, as McKnight ended up running for 65 yards. The Trojans would eventually go on to score and make it 28-10. Booty finished the game throwing for a total of 255 yards.

Given that the Illini were the clear underdogs, the final score did not come as a surprise to many. This was the Illini’s first trip to the Rose Bowl in 24 years, and there is no doubt that this was a period year for Ron Zook’s young club, who went just 2-10 last season.

"Not good. This hurts," said Zook, whose team beat Ohio State 28-21 in November. "I told our guys we were representing the conference and we let the Big Ten down. I think we can compete, but we have to do it."