Deon Butler his teammates Jordan Norwood and Josh Gaines just started laughing when they first saw the map. Josh Hull jumped out of his chair.
The map displayed the results of an ESPN poll that asked viewers who would win the Rose Bowl.
The results showed a country washed in USC red, save for one, as Butler put it, "little" swath of blue. Of course the only people who voted for the Lions were the same people who likely had packed Beaver Stadium for seven Saturdays this fall and waited in endless traffic trying to get home after games.
The only state in the Lions' corner was Pennsylvania, but that sits just fine with Butler.
"It's definitely going to be a great challenge," Butler said. "Everyone already knows USC's caliber so it's kind of like `how do we stack up?' Obviously, we feel like it's kind of like an us-against-the-world mentality.
"If you want to be the best you have to play the best."
And considering a Big Ten team hasn't won the Rose Bowl since 1999, the conference hasn't been able to match the Pac-10's best.
Lion defensive end Aaron Maybin found that fact out the hard way. Maybin spent a couple days with USC linebacker Rey Maualuga and safety Taylor Mays when the three were in Orlando, Fla. for the ESPN College Football Awards Show.
While Maybin said both Maualuga and Mays were good guys and nice to him, he said they didn't let him forget about the Trojans' recent dominance of Big Ten teams (USC is 4-0 and outscored Big Ten teams 147-66 under Pete Carroll).
"We are definitely looking forward to it. Especially with me coming back from the road trip in Orlando," Maybin said. "I was around a couple of USC's guys and they told me about how USC has done pretty good against the Big Ten. But everybody's really excited."
Of course for someone like the Indiana-native Gaines, who grew up in the heart of Big Ten country, the Rose Bowl is even more special than a trip to the Pacific Coast to play against one of the country's premiere programs in front of more than 100,000 fans in the stadium and millions watching on television.
This won't be the first time Gaines will play in the Rose Bowl, just the first time it will be a reality. He said playing in the Rose Bowl has always been one of his dreams and on Jan. 1, his fantasy will become in a reality in the land of fantasy, Hollywood.
"Watching the Rose Bowl growing up, in my eyes it was always a National Championship. It's something I always looked forward to doing," Gaines said. "I always placed myself putting a rose in my mouth. I always dreamed about doing that. It's going to be a fun game."
