Trojans Football Gets Ready for Penn State in the 'White Out' Game

The No. 19 University of Southern California Trojan Football team will travel to Happy Valley to play the Penn State Nittany Lions (3-2) in the "White Out” game, Saturday, October 10.

USC is 5-1 on the season coming off of a conference win against Washington in their last game. The chatter around Los Angeles right now is regarding head coach Lincoln Riley who is said to be on the hot seat, after a bad loss to Oregon, and a close (but uncomfortable) win versus the Huskies.

USC is led by third year starter Jayden Maiava who has 1,744 yards passing with 15 TD’s. He is currently ranked the No. 9 QB by PFF with a grade of 90.3.

As usual, Riley's offense is cooking. The Trojans have four running backs that are all averaging over 4.5 yards per carry. Their offensive line is one of the highest graded units in the country, as they excel in both pass and run blocking.

USC is one the most explosive teams in the country, ranking No.1 with 26 explosive pass plays (tied with SMU). The Trojans also rank No. 5 in explosive run plays, with 30 run plays of over 10 yards or more. 

Northwestern had over 500 yards of offense in its 34-13 win versus Penn State last weekend. The biggest thing Riley's offense must do on Saturday, is show up. This is not going to be a cake walk, but USC and Riley need to do what they’ve done every game in his tenure, show up. 

Specifically, USC should run the ball with its four-headed monster consisting of King Miller, Waymond Jordan, Shahn Alston, and Riley Wormley. Northwestern ran for over 400 yards against Penn State. USC has a higher caliber group of offensive lineman and running backs than the Wildcats.

Defensively USC is ranked No. 47, which is the highest defensive ranking Riley has had while at USC. The hire of Hall of Fame defensive coordinator Gary Patterson is still in question, the Penn St game will be a huge test for the formerly retired Patterson.

Penn State is led by its first year coach, Matt Campbell. The former Iowa State coach had brought 24 players with him, making up the majority of the portal class for the Nittany Lions. 

The best player on the Penn State team is linebacker Tony Rojas. So far this season he has 33 tackles, three sacks, and 11 tackles for loss. Defensive ends Caleb Bacon and Yvan Kemajou are active players who can also get to the quarterback. 

Penn State ran for 48 yards against Northwestern. That does not mean they won't have success against USC whose rush defense is ranked No. 34. Rutgers ran for less than 100 yards against UMass, but against USC they totaled 168 yards on the ground. 

It really depends on which USC defense shows up. Will it be the team that shut out Fresno St, or the team that let Rutgers run all over them?

Penn State had two turnovers in their last game, the last thing Matt Campbell wants to do is give Lincoln Riley extra possessions. 

USC has outscored its opponents 126-51 in the first half of games this season. The best way to control what will be a hostile crowd, is to put up enough points early, to shut the crowd up. 

For Penn State, who is still looking for a real win (they beat Marshall, Temple, and Buffalo), the USC game is the perfect opportunity to get the Matt Campbell Era off the ground.