Penn State vs. USC: Four Keys to Victory
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Penn State vs. USC: the White Out game. The Nittany Lions enter this pivotal moment in their season after consecutive losses, and bad ones at that.
The two conference losses came from a 17-point Wisconsin comeback and a historically great rushing game from Northwestern. Penn State needs this one to turn the season around.
Here are a few keys to Penn State taking down the No. 19-ranked Trojans on Saturday.
Penn State vs. USC: Four Keys to Victory
Need to See Improvement from Penn State’s Offense
Penn State’s offense has been tough to watch recently, and slow starts haven’t helped. The unit has punted on its opening drives in the last two games and still hasn’t scored an opening-drive touchdown this season.
USC has a susceptible defense, ranking 89th in the FBS in scoring, 96th in passing, 43rd in rushing and 67th in total defense. This can’t be a game where Penn State’s defense has to be nearly perfect against a talented Trojans offense. The offense has to do its part and score more than 20 points against a Big Ten opponent.
Many eyes will be on Rocco Becht after another poor showing in last week’s loss to Northwestern. Becht has completed 54% of his throws for 357 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions in the two recent losses.
Penn State’s Run Defense Must Improve
Allowing 413 yards and four touchdowns on the ground to Northwestern was an all-time bad showing by Penn State’s defense. The Nittany Lions were consistently losing at the line of scrimmage and made tackling look as if it was optional.
USC has the No. 74 rush offense in the FBS, but that ranking doesn’t hold much weight considering what Northwestern accomplished with the No. 95 rushing offense entering last week’s contest.
The lack of physicality from Penn State’s defense was concerning. However, fixing it has been an emphasis this week in practice.
“I would say today was the most physical practice we’ve had in a long time,” said junior linebacker Cael Brezina on Tuesday.
“IprobablyhadtheheaviestloadinapracticethatIhave had allyear,” said senior tight end Ben Brahmer on Wednesday. “Icanfeeladifference. Everybody’sfindingtheiredgerightnow,kickingitintoadifferentgearjustbecauseweknowwe’ve gottoliveuptothestandardofPennStatefootball,andtheonlywaytodothatistocontinuetoworkhard.”
Limit Jayden Maiva and USC’s Offense
The Trojans’offense is going to get theirs no matter if they win, lose, or draw. Even in USC’s lowest-scoring output of the season in last week’s 25-21 win over Washington, the offense totaled 360 yards, with 245 coming from senior quarterback Jayden Maiava. Maiava is the nation’s second-leading passer with 1,744 yards, 15 touchdowns and three interceptions.
The key to stopping this Lincoln Riley offense is simple: make them drive the length of the field, stop them on third down and don’t break in the red zone.
“It’s a game where I told the guys, ‘You can’t look up at the stats. They’re gonna move the ball. They’re going to have plays,’” Penn State defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn said on Tuesday. “We need to be great on third down. We need to be great in the red zone, and we need to stop the run, and then don’t give them chunk plays. Make them drive all the way down the field.”
Lynn enters this game with some familiarity with USC’s offense. He spent the 2024 and 2025 seasons as the Trojans’ defensive coordinator under Riley. Lynn’s defense once held USC’s offense to just 20 points in 2023 when he was the defensive coordinator at UCLA.
The White Out Crowd Must Show Up
Beaver Stadium attendance has appeared to be rather sparse this season, but that is likely due to the added seating on the west side of the stadium from the $700 million renovation project.
Beaver Stadium’s capacity has risen from 107,282 to an estimated 108,000 to 109,000 seats from the project. The average attendance through the first three home games has been 106, 733, while the average attendance through the first three home games in 2024, before stadium renovations began, was 107,766.
Beaver Stadium may appear emptier, but the attendance has been similar to previous years. However, that could change against USC.
Some have pointed out on social media the quantity of tickets still available for purchase for Saturday’s White Out, but Jon Sauber of the Center Daily Timesreported Friday that Penn State listed over 110,000 tickets for sale, the most in program history.
A sell-out crowd could very well break Penn State’s attendance record of 111,030. That record was set in the 20-13 loss to No. 4 Ohio State in 2024.
Homefield advantage is real in college football, and that advantage could be enough to push the Nittany Lions past USC.
Main Image: David Banks-Imagn Images
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