College Football Rose Bowl Odds: Penn State vs. USC

Four years ago, Joe Paterno (11-1 SU, 7-3-1 ATS) was supposed to be too old to coach college football. (AP Images)"]

But his Penn State Nittany Lions have earned four straight bowl appearances, and Paterno, 82 on Sunday, carries a fresh contract extension with him to the Rose Bowl against the USC Trojans (11-1 SU, 6-6 ATS).

Either of these teams would have made a deserving BCS title game opponent. But while Pete Carroll’s Trojans are 10-point favorites (-105) in Pasadena, Paterno’s Lions were rated ahead of USC in the stat-friendly Fremeau Efficiency Index heading into the season finale. PSU was ranked No. 3 in the FBS with the Trojans at No. 5. College Football News also has them ranked very close with USC No. 7 and PSU No. 8.

Live betting is on for this game, which will be shown on ABC starting at 5:00 p.m. Eastern on New Year’s Day.