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USC, Sanchez state their case in a rout


By RON GUILD, Sports Editor 08.JAN.09

Mark Sanchez’s personal stock with NFL scouts undoubtedly skyrocketed and so did USC’s in regard to national rankings with another dominating performance in the Rose Bowl.

While Florida and Oklahoma are officially playing for the national title in Thursday’s BCS Championship game in Miami, the fifth-ranked Trojans (12-1) made a statement of their own with another dismantling of a Big Ten opponent on New Year’s Day, this time a 38-24 win over a Penn State team that entered the game 11-1 and ranked No. 6 nationally.

“All due respect to Oklahoma and Florida, they’re great programs, but I don’t think anybody can beat us,” USC coach Pete Carroll said after winning a record third consecutive Rose Bowl. “This team can play defense, it can run the ball when it has to, it can pass the ball.

“Those are fantastic teams, I just wish we could keep playing.”

Penn State coach Joe Paterno didn’t need the beating his team was handed to be convinced the Trojans were for real.

“I always felt we were playing one of the better teams in the country, regardless of whether they were playing for the national championship or not,” he said.

As for Sanchez, a draft-eligible junior still weighing his options, he helped his cause in regard to the pros with a 28-for-35 for 413-yard, four-touchdown-pass performance against the Nittany Lions to earn game offensive MVP honors.

The latest in a line of successful quarterbacks (Carson Palmer, Matt Leinart, John David Booty) to move onto to next level after playing for Carroll at USC, Sanchez passed for 3,207 yards and 34 touchdowns in his first year as a starter.

He isn’t leaning one way or the other at this point, though, he did say afterwards, “It’s going to be hard to say goodbye to this place. I don’t think I could do it.”

Carroll said after the game a lot of research will go into determining whether Sanchez should stay or turn pro.

Once all the information is available, then, “We’ll see how compelling an argument there is for leaving,” Carroll said. “I’m not about holding on to guys. We’ll take our time and lay out what could happen (as far as the draft). It should not be an emotional decision.

“But if he does come back, he could have the kind of seasons Carson, Matt and John David Booty had,” he said. “He he has the potential to be the best player in America next year.”

If Sanchez does return, he’ll be spearheading a loaded offense in 2009, a reversal of the past season when they were often carried by a senior-dominated defense that ranked first nationally.

They return all three tailbacks (Stafon Johnson, C.J. Gable and Joe McKnight) who carried the ball in the Rose Bowl. Johnson, the Dorsey High School product, ran for a game-high 63 yards on 15 carries against Penn State, giving him 727 yards for the year. Johnson, a junior, has indicated he’ll likely return rather than declare for the draft.

Damion Williams, who had 10 catches for 162 yards and a TD against the Nittany Lions, Ronald Johnson and David Ausberry are all due back as wide receivers.

“I expect the offense to be ahead of the defense because everybody is back except Patrick (wide receiver Turner),” Carroll said. “The defense is going to be in a little bit of a transition, but I still don’t see it taking a step backward in that transition.”

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Area products had impacts on their teams winning bowl games.

Jeremiah Johnson, Stafon’s teammate at Dorsey, ran for 119 yards on 12 carries, including a 76-yard scoring run, in Oregon’s 41-32 victory over Oklahoma State in the Holiday Bowl.

Former Jordan High star Ricky Thenarse, the starting free safety for Nebraska, blocked a punt that led to the go-ahead field goal in the Cornhuskers’ 26-21 victory over Clemson in the Gator Bowl.

Utah junior free safety Robert Johnson, formerly of Fremont High and L.A. Southwest College, had a pair of interceptions in the Utes’ 31-17 upset of Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. Johnson’s first-quarter interception set up the second Ute touchdown and his second pick in the fourth period ended the Tide’s comeback hopes.