2009 Rose Bowl

The Rose Bowl Game was a contractual sell-out, with 64,500 tickets allocated to the participating teams and conferences.

The remaining tickets went to the Tournament of Roses members, sponsors, City of Pasadena residents, and the general public.

Scoring 24 unanswered points in the second quarter, the Pacific-10 Conference Champion University of Southern California Trojans defeated the Big Ten Conference co-champion, the Pennsylvania State University Nittany Lions, 38-24, for their third consecutive Rose Bowl victory (in their fourth consecutive appearance, having lost the 2006 BCS title game to the Texas Longhorns).

USC was designated as the home team, wearing dark jerseys and using the east bench on game day.

The Trojans have played in the Rose Bowl more times than any other team and made its fourth consecutive appearance in 2009.

The Kickoff Classic XVIII on August 27, 2000, in Giants Stadium at East Rutherford, New Jersey, was the last time they met: the Trojans defeated the Nittany Lions, 29-5.