USC wins Rose Bowl championship, 38-24

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While ABC’s Brent Musburger tried to make the best of things with 36 seconds left in the game, Penn State just didn’t have enough to make up for its mistakes in the first half, particularly in the first quarter. As Penn State was taking penalties, USC was getting hot and hotter.

Penn State quarterback Daryll Clark did everything he could to try to get his team back in the hunt. He threw two touchdown passes and ran for a third. But Clark’s last pass, which he lofted into the end zone, was simply thrown up for grabs -- and was intercepted.

While the final score, 38-24, makes it look close, it really wasn’t. At least not until the last quarter.

By then USC quarterback Mark Sanchez had already done plenty of damage. He threw three touchdowns and ran for another -- all in the first half. He finished with 413 passing yards. But the Trojans weren’t perfect either. All of The Times’ Rose Bowl coverage can be found on latimes.com/sports.

-- Debbie Goffa