After taking care of UCLA in the first Big Ten game between the two schools, Penn State will have another first this week, their first west coast Big Ten trip. The Nittany Lions head to Southern California to take on the Trojans of USC.
Penn State vs. USC series history
Saturday will mark the 11th time Penn State and USC will meet in a football game. USC leads the overall series 6-4 at the moment.
The last time the two teams met January 2, 2017 in the Rose Bowl. In that game, USC won a shootout, 52-49. The last two games between the schools have come in the Rose Bowl, as the teams also met on New Year’s Day 2009.
Penn State has not beaten USC since August 25, 1996. They have never beaten USC on the road.
Key players for Penn State
Quarterback Drew Allar is up to 1,101 passing yards and is completing almost 71 percent of his passes (73-for-103). Allar also has nine touchdowns to one interception, though he only has one passing touchdown in his last two games.
Penn State should have their dynamic pairing in the backfield together again this week. An injury kept Nick Singleton out of the UCLA game last week. Kaytron Allen rushed 21 times for 78 yards and a touchdown in the 27-11 win.
Key players for USC
Quarterback Miller Moss has done a solid job this season after taking over for Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams. Moss has thrown for 1,398 yards, nine touchdowns and four interceptions in five games. He is, however, coming off his worst performance last week against Minnesota, throwing for just 200 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions.
Woody Marks leads the way in the running back. He has 468 yards and four touchdowns on 81 attempts. He has three games with over 100 rushing yards. Marks had added 145 yards on 19 catches.
Three wide receivers have at least 200 receiving yards to this point. Those players are Ja’kobi Lane (21 catches, 234 yards, four touchdowns), Zachariah Branch (21-227-0) and Kyron Hudson (18-226-0). They should play a major role for the Penn State passing attack in this game.
The Trojans have two defenders with 30-plus tackles, including Easton Mascarenas-Arnold (36) and Eric Gentry (30). These two players are all over the field on every game, and are two that Penn State should be keeping an eye on in this game.
Keys to victory for Penn State
Embrace the pressure and high stakes
Penn State wants to make the 12-team playoff. They need to record some key victories to build their resume. A road win at USC to get to 6-0 heading into their second bye week of the season could go a long way toward making that goal a reality.
Take advantage of struggling USC line
Penn State continues to get after the quarterback. They got to UCLA’s Justyn Martin twice last week. Rattling Moss and getting Lincoln Riley’s offense out of sorts is going to be key. Penn State looks on paper to have the advantage in the trenches. They have to take advantage of that.
Get Nick Singleton back into the groove
Singleton missed the UCLA game with an injury but should be back for this week. It shouldn’t take long for Penn State to get him back into tbe swing of things. Both he and Allen should feel good after seeing USC give up 144 rushing yards to Minnesota running back Darius Taylor.
USC has allowed a 100-yard rusher in two of their last three games. If Singleton or Allen make it three of four, the Lions have a good chance to get to 6-0.
