USC, Penn State match high-scoring offenses

But they also have two of the nation’s top defenses, so which group will dominate?

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Points have come in bunches at the Rose Bowl recently.

Only once in the last 10 years have the Rose Bowl participants combined to score fewer than 42 points, and that was nine years ago when Wisconsin beat Stanford 17-9 for the last victory by a Big Ten team. The other totals during that time were 69, 58, 51, 48, 42, 75, 79, 50 and 56.

Why so much scoring?

“I have no idea. Maybe because the offenses are wide-open in a bowl situation,” Southern California defensive coordinator Nick Holt said Monday.

“There’s no explanation for it. It’s any given day,” Penn State tailback Evan Royster said. “I think it’s because the offenses have a lot of time to prepare for this game. That’s the only thing I can think of.”

The weather is usually ideal, too, and that should be the case again Thursday when No. 5 USC and No. 6 Penn State play in the 95th Rose Bowl game.

The Trojans and Nittany Lions have potent offenses, averaging 37.5 and 40.2, respectively. But their defenses have been among the nation’s best, with the Trojans giving up only 93 points for an NCAA-leading average of 7.8 per game. The Nittany Lions are not far behind at 12.4.

The Trojans are tops in the country at 206.1 yards allowed per game, while the Nittany Lions have given up an average of 263.9 yards to rank fifth.

“You wouldn’t think it would be [a high-scoring game] because of these two defenses,” Penn State offensive coordinator Galen Hall said. “We realize they’re big, fast, strong, all that. You’ve got to mix it up. We’ve got to play our game, which is sort of wide-open. We’ve got to keep them off-balance.

“I’m not sure there’s anyone as a group that’s better than [the USC defense]. They really are that good. They justifiably are the No. 1 defense in the nation.”

The Trojans have exceptional linebackers, led by Rey Maualuga and Brian Cushing, both of whom weigh more than 250 pounds and cover plenty of ground. All-America safety Taylor Mays, a 6-foot-3, 235-pounder, is the fastest player on the USC roster.

“They’re very fast, one of the fastest defenses we’ve seen,” Penn State wide receiver Deon Butler said.

USC gave up only 56 points in its last nine games, pitching three shutouts and holding five other teams to 10 points or less.

“I think we got to a point as a team, we didn’t care who we played,” Mays said. “We would have played anybody, anytime.”

The Nittany Lions (11-1) can relate to playing one bad game, having been knocked out of national championship contention by a 24-23 loss at Iowa on Nov. 8 on Daniel Murray’s 31-yard field goal with a second left.

All-American defensive end Aaron Maybin, fellow defensive lineman Jared Odrick and linebacker Navorro Bowman lead the Nittany Lions.

“They’re definitely good. They’re nothing like we’ve seen before,” said USC quarterback Mark Sanchez, who has passed for 2,794 yards and 30 touchdowns with 11 interceptions. “I know they fly to the ball. They’re something special in their own right. They’ll be a fun challenge for us.”