We have reached a seminal moment on Rose Bowl Friday: the first game played inside the actual Rose Bowl itself and the first appearance/victory by the University of Southern California Trojans—the school that holds the record, by far, with 25 victories in the Granddaddy of Them All. No other school even has double-digit wins in the Rose Bowl, so this game on January 1, 1923, was the start of something very special for us all.

The Trojans defeated the then-independent Penn State Nittany Lions, 14-3, to finish the season with a 10-1 record, although the SOS ranking (79th of 108) left something to be desired. Meanwhile, Penn State ended the year with a 6-4-1 mark, which meant an SRS finish just four spots behind USC, thanks to SOS strength of the East representative in this game. But due to traffic mishaps, the game started more than an hour late.

As a result, the Nittany Lions—the team arriving late to the new stadium—seemed out of sorts, managing just 104 total yards and a mere five first downs all game. While Penn State took a 3-0 lead in the first quarter, the Trojans scored a touchdown in both the second and third quarters, respectively, to take the lead and clinch it. It is easy to wonder how much the pregame snafu impacted the Nittany Lions, for sure.

USC had gone 6-0 against small schools, but it posted just a 3-1 record against major-college teams coming into the game—including a 12-0 loss to California in the first game ever played at the Rose Bowl stadium, in October of the regular season. Meanwhile, the Nittany Lions went 4-0 against small schools and just 2-3-1 against major competition … making the question valid as to why Penn State was invited to this game at all.

In those 6 prior games against legitimate teams, the Nittany Lions outscored the opponents by one point: 43-42. In fact, Penn State had been shutout three times by legit opponents (Syracuse, Navy, Pittsburgh). The Trojans may not have been a great team, but we can question whether the Nittany Lions even deserved the invitation. In the end, though, the “right” team won, in terms of the better team against major opponents.