There was a moment just after the first orders of prime rib had been served when all that could be heard throughout the Lawry's dining room was the shrill scratching of forks and knives across plates.

For many of Penn State's players, it was their first meal since breakfast after a day of practice in the California sun.

"I haven't eaten since 8 o'clock this morning," linebacker Navorro Bowman said. "So I was ready to eat."

This year marked the 53rd year of the annual Beef Bowl, during which players from both Rose Bowl squads are treated to a prime rib dinner at Lawry's Beverly Hills Restaurant.

Since it began in 1956, the Beef Bowl has been one of the most accurate predictors of Rose Bowl success. The team with the most gastrointestinal capacity has gone on to win on the gridiron 69 percent of the time.

While rivalry is natural for football players, Lawry's insists it does not encourage competition between the teams and limits players to two servings of prime rib, although some extra-hungry competitors have been able to sneak extra beef.

While Bowman said he was hungry and ready to eat, he wouldn't call himself the favorite. Bowman said if he had to put money down it would've been on redshirt freshman lineman Johnnie Troutman.

But an unofficial tally at the end of the night tagged the winner as Rich Ohrnberger who reportedly consumed four servings of prime rib.

While Ohrnberger was one of many Lions given the green light to chow down, other, such as defensive linemen Josh Gaines and Jared Odrick weren't so lucky.

Gaines, who said he added some extra weight from too many cookies and turkey during the holidays, limited himself to simply salad and bread.

"I didn't eat the meat," Gaines said laughing. "I'm heavy."

Odrick, on the other hand, said he didn't necessarily put on weight since the end of the season, but wanted to stay at his playing weight and keep his first step.

"I ate about half of one," Odrick said. "I'm keeping my weight right where it is."

While the Lions' total won't be available until Sunday night, the shirt-and-tie-clad Penn State squad did earn one distinct title from Lawry's CEO Richard Frank.

"You clean up well after practice," Frank said while addressing the team. "This is the best-dressed team we've ever had."