PASADENA, Calif. -- The white-clad half of the Rose Bowl roared with cheers as Ollie Ogbu pounced on the loose ball. The Penn State faithful didn't notice the bright yellow flag resting on the turf.
What would have been a turnover in USC territory early in the game was instead an offside penalty on defensive end Aaron Maybin, the man who forced the fumble.
It was the first of several uncharacteristic mistakes from a team that
had played nearly flawless ball all season.
"The first half we just seemed to just do things that we have not done all year," coach Joe Paterno said. "I'm a little disappointed we weren't a little bit more competitive and I think a lot of that is because we made so many mistakes in the first half."
The scorebox read almost like a misprint. A team that had averaged 3.33 penalties per game committed nine against the Trojans. An offense that had only turned the ball over 13 times the entire season coughed it up three times in Pasadena.
But it was the timing of those mistakes that hurt the most. After Maybin's offside call, an illegal shift call negated a 45-yard catch and run by Deon Butler. Ironically Butler was the culprit of the infraction.
And with the Lions trying to show some signs of life before the end of the first half, Stephfon Green hauled in a screen pass and burst down the right sideline for a 30-yard gain, only to fumble at the 50-yard line.
Five plays later, the Trojans scored to make it 31-7 at the half, when the game, according to Paterno, got away from the Lions.
Quarterback Daryll Clark said the penalties hurt the Lions because they stalled the offense and kept the Lions from moving the chains.
"We didn't convert on third down, which was very uncharacteristic of us," Clark said. "We've been doing it all year and just weren't able to get it done and that hurt us.
"We punted away and those guys were just clicking on offense. They took advantage of the opportunities and we didn't."
The Lions had converted 53 percent of the time on third downs during the season, but could only manage one in five attempts during the first half against the Trojans.
For a team that upset Ohio State in Columbus thanks in large part to no penalties and no turnovers, the Rose Bowl was an enigma.
Defensive coordinator Tom Bradley offered a potential cause for Penn State's lack of execution.
The Lions had a 40-day layoff between the regular season finale and the Rose Bowl, while USC had to wait 26 days. Bradley said the layoff hurts because the players have not been in game situations for more than five weeks.
"Forty days off is tough, we're not used to it," Bradley said. "We gotta get back into game mode. That type of speed, that type of precision in the passing game is hard to duplicate in practice."
But Paterno said while the layoff and logistical problems in Pasadena, including having to drive 45 minutes for practice, weren't ideal, they weren't to blame.
He said his squad didn't execute as well as it has all season, which wouldn't suffice against a team as talented as USC. Paterno said. Instead, he wanted to compliment the Trojans.
"We had enough time to get ready, we just didn't play the game we've been playing all year," Paterno said. "In the first half people just kind of lost their heads about a couple of things, but I can't blame it on the layoff."
