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USC announces Trojan great as tunnel captain for Week 7 showdown with No. 4 Penn State

Andrew Olson

By Andrew Olson

Published:

USC is bringing back a Trojan great for Saturday’s showdown with No. 4 Penn State.

Sam Darnold will be back in the Coliseum to lead the Trojans out of the tunnel.

USC made a point of calling Darnold a Rose Bowl legend. The Trojan faithful will never forget Darnold’s performance against Penn State in the 2017 Rose Bowl.

Darnold set multiple Rose Bowl records and was named the game’s MVP. He threw for 5 touchdowns, setting a passing TD record and tying for most individual scores. Darnold’s 473 yards of total offense was also a new individual record for the inconic bowl game. Darnold finished 33-of-53 for 453 passing yards.

Darnold’s USC career came to a close after the 2017 season, in which he was named first-team All-Pac-12. He was selected No. 3 overall by the New York Jets in the 2018 NFL Draft.

In the NFL, Darnold has had his share of ups and downs. He’s on pace for his best professional season yet.

Darnold’s Minnesota Vikings are off to a 5-0 start. He is completing 63.5% of his passes, a career bet, for 8.1 yards per attempt. Darnold has thrown for 1,111 yards with an 11-4 touchdown-to-interception ratio.

Saturday’s battle of blue bloods is set for a 12:30 p.m. PT kickoff, airing on CBS.

Andrew Olson

A former Florida beat reporter, Andrew writes for the Saturday Tradition News Desk.