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Game Recap
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The loose balls? Southern California came up with them. Those crazy plays? They all went USC's way, too. The Trojans were every bit as good as advertised and the Rose Bowl was even more lopsided than expected. Freshman tailback Joe McKnight finished with 170 of USC's 633 yards in a record-setting romp Tuesday, 49-17 over outmatched Illinois. Sixth-ranked USC (11-2) tied a Rose Bowl record with the 49 points and the total offense was a record, too. The blowout gave the Trojans 11 wins for an unprecedented sixth straight season and made them 5-1 in their last six bowl games, all of them BCS affairs. Full story | GameCenter | Glog | Message Board
Spander: USC makes its claim as best team in land |
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Key Players
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John David Booty, USC, QB |
| The quarterback closed out his career, throwing 255 yards on 25-of-37 passing with three touchdowns to three different players. Booty threw TDs to Fred Davis, David Ausberry and Chauncey Washington. |
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Rashard Mendenhall, Illinois, RB |
| The junior running back rushed for a game-high 155 yards on 17 carries and scored a touchdown on a 79-yard run. He also had five receptions for 59 yards. |
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Notes
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Southern California: USC and Arizona State tied for the Pac-10 title, but Trojans held the head-to-head tiebreaker ... USC had eight first-team All Pac-10 selections, including defensive player of the year Sedrick Ellis ... Senior Fred Davis won the Mackey Award, given to the nation's top tight end ... USC has played in five straight BCS bowl games, winning all five.
Illinois: J Leman led Illinois in tackles and was named first-team All Big Ten ... Before this season, Illinois was 8-38 in the previous four seasons ... Freshman wide receiver Arrelious Benn, who had a concussion in the regular-season finale, came back and caught a touchdown pass ... OL Martin O'Donnell was named first team All-American by AP.
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Quotable
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"I would love to play one more. I don't think any team in the NCAA could beat us right now. Not Ohio, not LSU."
-- USC defensive lineman Sedrick Ellis
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Defensive end Lawrence Jackson celebrates with the Rose Bowl trophy after Southern California won 49-17. (AP)
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