Rose Bowl Halftime Report

SPORTING GOODS

It goes without saying that Penn State's defensive backs can't cover USC's phalanx of All-American receivers, but the weirdest thing about the game thus far has been the approach the octogenarian oaf has taken to the game.

ABC has aired frequent shots of the booth where Joe Pa and his coterie are spending the game. Not a word has passed between them in any of the views. The coach obviously has nothing to say to them, and his minions apparently wish to retain the protocol.

Meanwhile, Galen Hall—the Lions' coach on offense—has been shown in yet another booth far removed from the action, which means that Mike McQueary, wide receivers coach, is apparently running the sideline. It's a hell of a way to manage a bowl game, and, with the Lions down, 31-7, at the half, it shows.

In order to show that it's the best team in the nation (which, by the way, I believe), the Trojans may be disinclined to pull any punches in the second half. I.e., I think it's entirely within the realm of possibility that USC scores another thirty points in the last thirty minutes of the game. Such a debacle won't make any difference to the fools in State College, but it'll certainly give the "Joe Must Go" brigade some more ammunition.

UPDATE — Apparently feeling that it had nothing left to prove, USC mailed in the second half and prevailed, 38-24. Obviously, it wasn't that close. Except for the obligatory post-game limping-down-the-hallway shot, ABC stopped showing Penn State's clueless head coach throughout the second half; even the network must've figured out the image was just too embarrassing.