ANAHEIM, Calif. — Penn State and Southern California visited Disneyland on Tuesday, starting the festivities leading up to the Rose Bowl.

It was a trip neither team could have imagined making on the first day of October.

The Trojans were 1-3, having turned to redshirt freshman Sam Darnold at quarterback. The Nittany Lions were 3-2 with an overtime win at Minnesota just days after coach James Franklin had received a public vote of confidence from athletic director Sandy Barbour.

Neither team would lose again, with No. 5 Penn State (11-2) winning its last nine games to end the regular season and No. 9 USC (9-3) winning its final eight games. Both teams would beat conference foes that ended up reaching the College Football Playoff.