This is more than a game for Southern California.
It means more than just the return of Carson Palmer to the quarterback position. It means more than just starting the season on the right foot. It means more than postseason implications.
When the No. 15 Trojans face No. 22 Penn State at 2:30 p.m. Sunday at Giants Stadium for the Kickoff Classic, they will not only by fighting against the Nittany Lions, USC will be fighting for respect, recognition and reverence for the Pac-10 and West Coast football.
Last season, Penn State hosted the preseason Pac-10 favorite in the Pigskin Classic, but throttled Arizona 41-7 at Beaver Stadium on national television.
"There's no question that we are carrying the banner for the Pac-10 in a sense much like Arizona did a year ago because that is a responsibility," Trojans coach Paul Hackett said.
The Wildcats, who came into Happy Valley as a Top-5 program, finished the season with a 6-6 mark overall, finished sixth in the conference and did not compete in a bowl game. That sent a tidal wave of criticism toward the Pac-10, which was heightened when Wisconsin defeated Stanford, 17-9, in last season's Rose Bowl.
The Pac-10 has won only once in its last eight trips to the Rose Bowl.
Plus, the Pac-10 was 20-18 against non-conference opponents last season, its worst mark since 1990. Pac-10 teams posted a dismal 2-8 mark in the last two bowl seasons. And the Pac-10 has not claimed a Heisman Trophy winner since 1981.
Penn State's conference, the Big Ten, meanwhile, placed seven teams in the preseason Top 25.
"The Pac-10 has lost a lot of respect in the last couple of years," Palmer said. "I think it's (Sunday's game) a chance for us to get it back. Penn State is a big-time program, and, hopefully we can come back and get some respect back."
Southern California, though, does not have to earn Joe Paterno's admiration.
"It is a big game for us because we are a young football team that is going to have to come of age very quickly against a team that is as good as anybody else in the Pac-10," the 73-year-old coach said.
"I don't see any difference in the style of play. They do a lot of things well and a lot of things that we see in the Big Ten Conference both defensively and offensively," he said.
"They are a big, strong team. They have great athletes at the skilled positions.
"In that way, they remind you very much of some of the better teams in the Big Ten Conference."
The Trojans have an elite quarterback in Palmer, two Butkus Award candidates at linebacker in Markus Steele and Zeke Moreno and Pac-10 Freshman of the Year Kareem Kelly as a speedy wide receiver.
Still, it will be difficult for the Trojans. Penn State virtually has the home-field advantage, has won its last nine debuts and defeated the Trojans in the 1996 Kickoff Classic.
"It's a big game," CBS college football analyst and former Penn State quarterback Todd Blackledge said.
"It's exciting to play in a West Coast game. USC has more at stake. They are playing for the respect and the reputation of the Pac-10. They put more on themselves than Penn State has."
"We want to go out there and get respect, not only for the university, but for the Pac-10," Moreno said.
"It has lost the respect that we deserve. The Pac-10 is one of the most difficult conferences. This game will show that we are capable of being contenders for the national championship, as well as the Rose Bowl."
