USC at Penn State Preview: The ‘White-Out’ Game

On Saturday night, the USC Trojans (5-1) will march into Happy Valley to take on the Penn State Nittany Lions (3-2). The Trojans are coming off a 25-21 win over Washington and have momentum.

The Nittany Lions, however, are coming off a 34-13 loss on the road at Northwestern. The environment will be hostile and the “white-out” game is a contest that is not for the weak at heart.

Date: Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026

Time: 6:30 p.m. CT

Location: Beaver Stadium, University Park, PA

TV: NBC

Betting Odds: Penn State -1.5-point favorite

The Men of Troy come into this game with the No. 12 ranked passing offense in the country, throwing for 311 yards per game. The forward pass is the best part of their offense and represents their best chance to come away with a win.

However, the running back corps could find the going not so tough as Penn State does not defend the run very well. The Nittany Lions allow 176 yards rushing per game. That is bad enough to rank No. 111 nationally in rushing defense.

The USC defense is coming off a positive and productive game in the win over Washington, with five sacks and six tackles behind the line of scrimmage. Their former defensive coordinator, D’Anton Lynn, now coordinates the Penn State defense.

In command of the Trojans offense is quarterback Jayden Maiava. Maiava is the No. 2 signal-caller in the Big Ten at 290 passing yards per game, and leads the conference in touchdown passes with 15, and passing yards with 1,744. He has completed 68.6 percent of his passes.

The home-standing Nittany Lions are looking to get back to winning football. The two-game skid is the result of a deficient Nittany Lions defense that has given up 861 total yards and 68 points the last two weeks.  

However, Penn State will counter the USC passing offense with a pass defense that is ranked No. 3 nationally at 119 yards per game. In addition, they have intercepted five passes.

The Penn State defense is led by linebacker Tony Rojas. Rojas is a sideline-to-sideline kind of player and has been productive in many ways. He has 34 tackles, two interceptions, 7.5 tackles for loss, and three sacks. Rojas could be a human wrench in the offensive game plan of the Trojans.

It will be the first time in a decade that Penn State comes into this game not ranked in the AP Top 25. In 18 such games, the Nittany Lions own an 11-7 record, and are 5-1 since the 2019 campaign. That lone loss came against Oregon last season.

The majority of these games have been against Big Ten opponents, except for Notre Dame in 2007, Alabama in 2011, and Auburn in 2021.