Left Coast all right by them

Anthony Scirrotto assumed it would be the West Coast version of New York. Josh Gaines thought he’d see celebrities. A.Q. Shipley thought the weather would allow for dips in the ocean.

While Los Angeles has been a little different from their preconceptions, most members of the Penn State football team have enjoyed their first trip to Southern California.

“I love this place,” said Scirrotto, a safety from New Jersey. “It’s the best of both worlds: We stayed on the beach for the first four days in Santa Monica, and then driving to practice every day you see the mountains with the snow on top.”

The Nittany Lions were in Anaheim on Friday for the traditional pre-Rose Bowl team outing to Disneyland.

“I was here 150 years ago,” Penn State Coach Joe Paterno quipped to a crowd of several hundred gathered in front of Sleeping Beauty’s castle for the news conference. “Great to be back.”

Scirrotto looked forward to checking out Disneyland’s roller coasters, while Gaines had his eye on an entirely different diversion. “I just want to ride on the teacup,” said the 6-foot-1, 275-pound defensive lineman.

Holiday

Some family members were able to join the Nittany Lions on Thursday, but most of the players spent Christmas Day with each other.

“Stayed around the hotel and that was about it,” said wide receiver Derrick Williams. “We ordered in Chinese food, because everything was pretty much closed.”

On Christmas Eve, the players shared a holiday meal with the coaches, staff and their families at their hotel in Century City. This year, freshman defensive tackle Brandon Ware was selected to dress up as Santa Claus and hand out gifts to the children, a long-standing Lions tradition.

“Every year there’s a guy selected,” Gaines said. “A.Q., he’s the best Santa so far. He played two years in a row, so that was good. He looked great in a suit. He has the perfect stomach for it.”

Backup plan

Williams says he isn’t worried about backing up quarterback Daryll Clark for the Rose Bowl. “I’ve played quarterback before; I played it in high school,” said Williams, a senior from Maryland. “Wherever the team needs me, I’m just going to try my best.”

Because Pat Devlin left the team this month, Penn State will have to rely on Williams and senior Paul Cianciolo, who has played in only three games this season, as backup quarterbacks.

The situation doesn’t help the Lions’ image as underdogs in the New Year’s Day game.

“We’ve been underdogs obviously before, [though] I don’t think to this extent,” Shipley said. “It’s going to be almost a home game for [USC], and that’s going to be a very big challenge for us. . . . What the perception is outside of our team, we can’t really control that. Our job is to kind of go out there and try to prove them wrong.”

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corina.knoll@latimes.com