So what did we learn on New Year’s Day?

That USC is really good and the Big Ten isn’t one of the power conferences right now. The Trojans stepped all over Penn State in the Rose Bowl.

That left Los Angeles Times scribe Bill Plaschke touting Southern Cal for No. 1 votes: “USC cannot win the Bowl Championship Series national title, but the fifth-ranked Trojans can still win an AP national championship. After a breathtaking Pasadena afternoon marked by streaks of cardinal flying over lumps of white, couldn’t they? Unless something more inspiring happens in the final week of the bowl season, shouldn’t they?”

We also learned that Steve Spurrier isn’t making much headway at South Carolina. His Gamecocks handed Iowa a 31-10 victory in the Outback Bowl.

“I thought we had pretty good practices .  .  .  and I thought we had a decent game plan,” Spurrier told reporters after the game. “Then we throw it right to them and fumbled right to them . . . And we’re not, obviously, good enough to do that.”

(Wonder if he’ll watch Florida play Oklahoma in the BCS Championship, just to get a glimpse of his former life.)

TOUGH TIME FOR THE BALL COACH

Redshirt freshman quarterback Stephen Garcia was supposed to be the cornerstone of the Gamecocks rebuilding program. But he turned the ball over four times in the first half.

“I thought he would play a little better, but maybe he just wasn’t ready,” Spurrier said. “Maybe that’s the answer.”

You may recall that Garcia got off to a tough start at South Carolina, getting arrested twice during his first month on campus.

WAS BILLY DEVANEY WATCHING?

Over the Capital One Bowl, Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford strengthened his NFL Draft stock by throwing three second-half touchdown passes. Now has to decided whether to turn pro or return to the Bulldogs for another year.

“It’s going to be an extremely hard decision for me,” Stafford told the Orlando Sentinel. “My time at Georgia’s been great. It’s been an awesome time. It’s something that I’m contemplating continuing. Obviously, there’s the allure of the NFL, but to tell you the truth, I’m 50-50 right now, and I really don’t know what I want to do.”

MYSTERIES OF THE UNIVERSE

Questions to ponder while wondering if the young Cardinals relievers are ready to take charge of the bullpen:

• Wouldn’t it be cool if the Blackhawks played all their games at Wrigley Field?
• After years of mediocrity, why did the Arizona Cardinals have so much trouble selling playoff tickets? Aren’t they smitten with the Gridbirds?
• Division II North Alabama hiring Terry Bowden as its new football coach – isn’t that overkill?
• So how will John Daly kill those six months while serving his PGA Tour suspension?

QUIPS ‘R US

Here is what some of America’s leading sports pundits have been writing:

Jeff Schultz, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “The funniest thing about the Dallas Cowboys’ collapse — and there’s a long list — is the day-after proclamations by coach Wade Phillips that he is going to be a tougher guy with the players next season. Look, Wade Phillips is a pretty good defensive coordinator. Nice guy. Solid guy. But he is not George Patton. He’s not even Will Patton. He doesn’t get into players’ faces and he’s certainly not going to strike fear into anybody, like, say, Bill Parcells or Jimmy Johnson. Fact is, with Jerry Jones having such a high-profile position with the team, it’s going to be difficult for any coach to establish some semblance of authority.”

Will Leitch, Deadspin.com: “While every other coach leaving a lousy team seemed to receive a knowing nod and a journalistic kick in the face on his way out the door, Mike Holmgren got a red Harley. Nice for him. I wonder if he’ll give it back when he’s coaching the Cowboys in 2010.”

Tim Keown, ESPN.com: “This year’s most entertaining loser: Former Lions coach Rod Marinelli, who never failed to amuse us with his enduring ability to hide his sense of humor.”

Steve Rosenbloom, ChicagoTribune.com, on Red Wings defenseman Chris Chelios: “Chelios is close to hockey’s Zelig, seemingly always materializing at notable times — getting traded for Hawks legend Denis Savard, the 1991 All-Star Game in the old Stadium just days after the start of the Gulf War, the Olympic gold-medal game in Salt Lake City in 2002, the chair-throwing mess at the ’98 Games in Japan, the shocking upset of Canada in the ’96 World Cup, Montreal’s out-of-nowhere Stanley Cup in ’86, the dynastic Detroit run, and now the Winter Classic. No wonder the guy wants to play forever.”

Tony Augusty, Detroit News: “The Eagles barely were playoff contenders entering Sunday. To even have a shot, the Buccaneers had to lose, the Bears or Vikings had to lose, Tony Romo had to take a homeless man to see ‘Phantom of the Opera,’ Ed Hochuli had to blow a call and Bill Belichick had to smile. Improbably, all the scenarios we didn’t make up came true.”

MEGAPHONE

“I don’t think anybody can beat us. This is a terrific finishing program. We can play ‘D.’ We can throw the ball if we have to. We can run the ball if we have to. We’re just really, really hard to beat right now.”

USC coach Pete Carroll, after the Trojans waxed Penn State.