NCAA Football Result: Illinois vs USC
USC Trojans pounded Illinois Fighting Illini 49-17 to win the Rose Bowl Tuesday night. USC Trojans freshman tailback Joe McKnight finished with 170 of USC’s Rose Bowl-record 633 yards. The 49 points tied a record, too, and the blowout gave the USC Trojans 11 wins for an unprecedented sixth straight season.
The game featured 1,078 total yards of offense. Despite the margin, things were truly competitive for a brief moment. Illinois’ running back Rashard Mendenhall broke a 79-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter to trim what had been a three-touchdown deficit to 21-10.
Coach Pete Carroll favors or the trip to the title game he lobbied for, the USC Trojans (11-2) will have to take this overwhelming display in Pasadena.
“Everything that was out there for us, we took, 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.”
Minutes later, Illinois’ running back Rashard Mendenhall scooted 55 yards with a screen pass from Illinois’ quarterback Juice Williams, and Ron Zook’s 13th-ranked Illini (9-4) looked as if they might really complete the impossible dream, from 2-19 over the last two years to Rose Bowl champions.
Moments later, came the play of the game, when USC Trojans John David Booty threw a sloppy lateral to McKnight, who didn’t catch it, but was able to scoop it up on the bounce and run 65 yards. McKnight was chased down by defensive back Vontae Davis but four plays later; Booty hit USC Trojans Fred Davis with a 2-yard touchdown pass.
Illinois’ running back Rashard Mendenhall finished with 214 total yards in what could be the last college game for the junior. Williams had 245 yards passing for the Illini, whose last Rose Bowl trip came 24 years ago and ended in a 45-9 loss to quarterback Rick Neuheisel and UCLA.
Illinois Fighting Illini were 13 1/2-point underdogs — biggest of any of this season’s 32 bowl games — and the final score only added fuel to the fire of those who criticized the Rose Bowl for insisting on its traditional conference pairing.
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