Penn State to play USC in Rose Bowl, Jan. 2

It's official. Penn State (11-2) will play Southern California (9-3) in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 2.

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The Nittany Lions finished the season on a nine-game winning streak to make a strong closing statement.

Still, the College Football Playoff committee stayed with the same top four it picked going into championship weekend, leaving out No. 5 Penn State even though the Nittany Lions won the Big Ten title game on Saturday night and beat Ohio State earlier in the season.

Even after Penn State's wild finish to championship Saturday, selection Sunday went pretty much as expected.

So in the end, true chaos never came to college football this season.