LOS ANGELES — In the middle of a hotel ballroom in downtown Los Angeles, Malik Golden watched his Penn State teammates mug for pictures with red roses, grin as they faced the bright lights of television cameras and eye the Rose Bowl’s 21-inch sterling silver trophy.

The fifth-year senior seemed to be in disbelief.

“To see where I started and to see where we’re ending with our last game in the Rose Bowl is surreal,” Golden said.

The safety, along with offensive linemen Derek Dowrey and Brian Gaia, are the last three players left on Penn State’s roster who committed to play for the school when Joe Paterno was still the head coach. They stayed with Penn State through the Jerry Sandusky child sexual-abuse scandal, Paterno’s abrupt dismissal after 46 seasons as head coach, NCAA sanctions and a revolving door of coaches.

The trio will play in their final college game Monday against USC in the Rose Bowl, the last on-field link to a different era of Penn State football.