PASADENA, Calif. — Overwhelming from the start, Southern California put on a championship performance.

Too bad for the Trojans, they weren't playing for the national title.

Mark Sanchez passed for 413 yards and four touchdowns, USC dominated on defense — led by Baldwin alum Kaluka Maiava, the defensive player of the game — and the fifth-ranked Trojans beat up No. 6 Penn State, 38-24, yesterday in the Rose Bowl.

Penn State coach Joe Paterno watched from the press box, where he's been for most of the season because of hip problems. He couldn't have liked what he saw — at one point in the first half, the TV camera caught him shaking his head as USC (12-1) rolled to a 31-7 lead.

But even before the game, the 82-year-old coach said several times he thought USC was at least as good as any team in the country, perhaps better.

It doesn't matter.

Out of the BCS championship mix, the Trojans can only wonder what might have been had they not lost at Oregon State 27-21 on Sept. 25.

What was thought to be a weak Pac-10 hurt the Trojans' chances to reach the national championship game in Miami — where Florida and Oklahoma will play next week. But the Pac-10 finished the postseason 5-0.

"With all due respect, those are two great programs, I don't think anybody can beat the Trojans," USC coach Pete Carroll said. "I just think we can beat anyone we played. That's happened a lot to us late in the season. This is a terrific finishing program.

"I just wish we could keep playing. Unfortunately, we don't get to. Maybe someday there will be a chance, but not now."

And not soon, either. There's no playoff in sight for major college football.

USC scored four touchdowns and a field goal on five consecutive first-half possessions for a 24-point halftime lead against a team that allowed only 12.4 points per game during the regular season.

The Nittany Lions (11-2) scored 17 points in the fourth quarter to make the final score respectable.

Paterno, who has won 383 games, including 23 bowls — both records — thought USC was every bit as good as advertised. The Trojans won 10 straight after losing to Oregon State, outscoring the opposition 380-80.

"I thought that we were playing against the best and I thought we had to play our best to be competitive," Paterno said. "In the first half, we just did the dumb things that we have not done all year. We didn't play our game in the first half, but we came back and we hung in there. So we have nothing to be ashamed of.

"I don't want to take anything away from Southern Cal, because they played a heck of a football game and their quarterback played a great game," he said. "They certainly deserved to win it, but I'm a little disappointed that we weren't a little bit more competitive."

The Trojans' 31 first-half points were the most they've scored in any of their record 33 Rose Bowl games. They spent the second half working the clock while their defense held Penn State in check until the fourth quarter.

"The offense was on fire in the first half," Carroll said. "I thought Mark just set the tempo, (wide receiver) Damian Williams came through and the whole line really protected well so we had a chance to really get moving on these guys. We just kept firing on all cylinders."

USC finished with 27 first downs and 474 total yards.

"We mixed up the run and the pass so they couldn't really key on anything," Sanchez said. "I think we really maximized our potential. I don't know if it was a matter of opening up the playbook or us just executing very well. Maybe a little bit of both."

Sanchez, who completed 28 of 35 passes without being intercepted, might have played his final game for USC. The junior has said he will consider making himself available for the NFL draft. The deadline is Jan. 15.

"I'm going to celebrate this victory first and worry about it somewhere down the line," he said. "I'm excited that I have a great coach to talk about it with. It's going to be hard to say goodbye to this place. I don't think I can do it."

Williams caught a career-high 10 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown and Ronald Johnson caught two TD passes.

Daryll Clark completed 21 of 36 passes for 273 yards and two touchdowns with two interceptions for Penn State. Evan Royster, who averaged 6.5 yards per carry in gaining 1,202 yards during the regular season, came out with an injured left knee in the first quarter after picking up 34 yards on six carries.