Most everyone outside Illinois is picking the USC Trojans in the Rose Bowl. It will be contrast in styles at quarterback for the Fighting Illini and U–S–C. Illinois features Juice Williams, a run–first guy who can also throw. USC's John David Booty is a pure drop–back passer.

"From what I've seen, he's just a tremendous athlete," Booty said. " He's a thick guy who runs around making plays, who can also throw.
You know, I don't know how people judge his passing ability, but from what I've seen, it's been pretty impressive as well.
I've just been, like I've said, really impressed with his game and what he's brought to his team."

"Obviously, Juice can run a little bit more, and we use him to run a little bit more," Illinois linebacker J Leman said. "There's a reason you see mostly drop–back quarterbacks in the NFL, because they can be dangerous too and put the ball on the money and with the weapons they have, I think that their system is perfect for him."

Another key match–up...the Trojans defense against Rashard Mendenhall. The Illini tailback ran for over 1500 yards, best in Illini history. Southern Cal will keep a close eye on the Illini junior.

"Mendenhall and those guys can kill you, so we have to take care of those guys," USC coach Pete Carroll said.
"They get the ball so much and they're so integral to their offense you really have to take care of those guys or they'll run the whole show.
That's the biggest issue that we have to deal with. There's a lot of other problems, but that's the main focus."

"Rashard's been a delight," said Illinois quarterback Juice Williams. "He's been able to chalk up yards all season and make big plays for this team and score points all season. He's been a guy we've called upon when times were rough throughout the game. He's been a big contribution to this team. He means the world to this team."