Las Vegas Bowl Moment 11: Troy Polamalu shines in defensive battle
To celebrate the local bowl’s 25th anniversary milestone, the Review-Journal will rank the top 25 moments in Las Vegas Bowl history. We’ll relive one moment per day until game day Dec. 17 at Sam Boyd Stadium:
No. 11: Future NFL star goes on tackling binge
Date: Dec. 25, 2001
Score: Utah 10, Southern California 6
Back story: Before Pete Carroll put USC football back on the map with countless stars on the field, he struggled in his first season at the university. At 6-5 and a fifth-place finish in the then-Pac 10, the Trojans found themselves in the Las Vegas Bowl against Mountain West member Utah. This was the final game before USC went on a dominant five-year run.
Game: Future NFL star Troy Polamalu posted a bowl-record 20 tackles in the losing effort on Christmas Day. The game was dominated by defense, with Polamalu being the clear star on the field. Utah held the Trojans to 1 rushing yard and contained quarterback Carson Palmer.
Since: Polamalu went on to have a Hall of Fame career playing safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers and winning two Super Bowls. Palmer was selected No. 1 overall by the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2003 NFL Draft. Palmer is currently the starter for the Arizona Cardinals. Carroll won three consecutive national titles at USC before winning a Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks.
Contact Gilbert Manzano at gmanzano@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0492. Follow @gmanzano24 on Twitter.
