Ta'Mere Robinson leads USC into a White Out he knows well
NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...
LOS ANGELES — For most of USC's roster, Saturday's trip to Beaver Stadium is just an away game in a hostile setting. For linebacker Ta'Mere Robinson, it's more of a homecoming.
Robinson spent two seasons at Penn State before transferring to USC, and he didn't hide his emotion in regards to the return trip.
"I'm very excited to go back home this weekend," the Pittsburgh native said. "You know, get to play my old school…[I] have previous experience with White Outs, and it's going to be a live game. I'm very excited to go out there and compete against some guys that I know."
The redshirt junior earned a game ball for his performance in the victory over Washington, stepping up in a big way with Desman Stephens II sidelined as he served his one-game suspension. He credited the locker room's belief in him for carrying over into this week's preparation for the noise he already knows is coming.
Center Tobias Raymond pointed to a different kind of familiarity shaping this week's gameplan: Penn State's defense is coordinated by D'Anton Lynn, who left Los Angeles for Happy Valley after two seasons with the Trojans.
"It's cool playing against him," Raymond said. "We had a lot of practice reps against him, so I feel like it's definitely going to be a fun game and we're just excited to get out there."
Raymond also looked back at the mindset the squad had in the win over Washington, when USC found itself trailing 21-10 and needing a productive drive to shift the momentum.
"When it comes down to times like that, you really try not to focus on the score. You can't worry about something that's out of your control."
Defensive tackle Jahkeem Stewart, who provided a critical scoop and score to fuel the Trojans' comeback over the Huskies, framed the defense's growth under Gary Patterson as an ongoing transition rather than a finished product.
Nico Alba – The Sporting Tribune
Jahkeem Stewart #4 of the USC Trojans returns a fumble in for a defensive touchdown during a NCAA football game against the Washington Huskies, Saturday October 3rd, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.
"[He's] slowly getting out of the TCU mindset with the weapons we have right now…there's a big difference from the generations where he coached at TCU to now," Stewart said. "He's slowly getting to the trust with that. It took time, but we're coming together and he's slowly getting there."
Safety Alex Graham, who is tied for the team lead in sacks so far, said that the belief within the group has been building since well before the season began.
"That goes way back to the offseason workouts throughout the summer," he said. "Doing stuff outside during the summer as a team…once you do that, that builds trust alone and on the field, people making plays, that automatically builds trust too."
Graham, like much of the USC defense, understands that what significance of a Penn State White Out game can carry in terms of environment.
"The White Out game is always electric," he said. "Stepping on the field, just hearing the chants is going to turn me up…just being in that atmosphere is going to turn us all up, and we've actually been practicing with the crowd noise in practice."
Between Robinson's homecoming, USC's familiary with Lynn and his scheme and a defense that insists it's still finding its footing under Patterson, the squad's trip to State College definitively carries more storyline than a typical road test.
More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos