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USC coach Pete Carroll celebrates after the No. 5 Trojans beat No. 6 Penn State 38-24 in the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day. Following a 6-6 mark in his first season at USC in 2001, Carroll's Trojans have gone 82-9 with seven straight Pac-10 titles and a 6-1 record in BCS bowls.

With just 36 seconds to go before half, USC scored again, to make the halftime lead 24 points. Between that point after and the ensuring kickoff, virtually the entire USC team came out to the 20-yard line and danced.

All of that emotion was deliberately stoked and encouraged, Carroll said afterward, explaining that the 2009 Rose Bowl was "such a big deal" because it was "what we had in front of us — and we were going to do everything we could to make it as fun and [bring as] passionate an effort as we could possibly muster.

"And that's what you saw."

"Hey, Coach Carroll could get us pumped up to eat a hot dog," another USC safety, Taylor Mays, had said a couple days before the game.

Carroll swept aside potential distractions such as the after-the-game departure of Steve Sarkisian, USC's offensive coordinator, the new head coach at Pac-10 rival Washington.

Standout running back Joe McKnight, who played a starring role in the 2008 Rose Bowl against Illinois, went off in the first half, hurt. Others stepped up: USC quarterback Mark Sanchez completed 28 of 35 passes for 413 yards, second highest in Rose Bowl history. Receiver Damian Williams caught 10 passes for 162 yards.

Carroll had insisted all along his team would be ready. "We're playing on January 1st and thrilled to be doing it," he had said, adding, "So I don't have any frustration at all. Our team doesn't have any frustration at all."

He also said, "We get a great match-up and a great game, and who is to say who is the best team?"

No matter the Florida-Oklahoma outcome, it's hard to argue against USC.

During the regular season, USC ranked first nationally in total defense and scoring defense, among other categories, giving up only 206.1 yards and a mere 7.8 points per game.

Some of the other numbers from USC's 2008 season were similarly outrageous:

• Notre Dame didn't get even a first down against USC until the final play of the third quarter. Maybe that says something about Notre Dame's offense but still — improbable if not incredible.
• Penn State had given up six passes all year for scores. Sanchez threw Thursday for four.
• The Trojans had given up only 22 second-half points all year. Yes, Penn State scored 17. But the Nittany Lions were already down 24 at the half and the 2009 Rose Bowl was by then all but over.
• Carroll went 6-6 in his first season, 2001, at USC. Since then, USC is 82-9 with seven straight Pac-10 championships and seven straight BCS bowls, winners of six of those seven, the only loss the memorable 41-38 defeat to Texas in the national championship game three years ago.

"Southern Cal deserved to win it," Paterno said after the game. "They played better than we did. They're an awfully fine football team.

"… You know, we got licked."

No doubt about it.

And no doubt about this, either: Carroll is the better coach.

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