Bob McCarty Writes

The USC Trojans rolled over the Illinois Fighting Illini in the Rose Bowl tonight, 49-17, leading me to conclude that I probably overestimated the weaknesses of Ron Zook’s squad when I picked them to lose by 35 in my bowl game predictions post yesterday.

Certainly, the prospect of playing Pete Carroll’s squad in Pasadena must have been a big thrill for Zook’s returning players, winners of only two games last year. For the Men of Troy, however, the granddaddy of bowl games amounted to little more than a non-conference cakewalks of a home game.

In any case, my hat’s off to Zook for resurrecting the Illinois program!