USC QB Maiava to Face ‘White-Out’ Conditions in Happy Valley

It does not get any better than football in Happy Valley in prime time. White-out conditions is the forecast for Saturday night as the visiting No. 19 USC Trojans (5-1, 2-1 in the Big Ten) will face off against the home-standing and unranked Penn State Nittany Lions, under first-year head coach Matt Campbell.

Penn State (3-2, 0-2 in the Big Ten) will deploy a nationally ranked, top-three pass defense to stop Trojans quarterback Jayden Maiava, who ranks in the top ten in passing yards per game (290 yards/game) and passing touchdowns (15).

Maiava has only thrown three interceptions this season, and he is completing 68.6 percent of his passes. But Maiava has thrown an interception in each of his last two games; a loss to Oregon and a close win against Washington.  

Also, the Trojans’ depth chart on receivers has taken hits this season, with a season-ending injury to Cory Simms. Trent Mosley was out against Washington last week, as was tight end Mark Bowman.

Kayden Dixon-Wyatt is Maiava’s favorite target, but he had no catches in the win over Washington. Dixon-Wyatt will need to get free and make plays against the Nittany Lions if USC is to leave Happy Valley victorious.

Maiava will lead the USC offense against Penn State defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn, who served in that same capacity at USC the previous two seasons.

In his weekly press conference on Tuesday, Maiava recognized the challenge that the Penn State pass defense presents.

“I think it comes back to the work they put in and, the coaching,” said Maiava. “Obviously Coach L's a great coach and I know he's going to get those guys ready as well as coach Lang is going to get us ready to go out there. They got a really good front, really good secondary. I think just a great opportunity for the guys up front, guys in receiver room, just to go out there play Trojan football.”

The Nittany Lions have allowed opponents just 119.6 yards passing per game, a 55.1 percent completion rate, and they have intercepted five passes. Penn State has given up only two touchdown passes through five games.

In addition, Penn State has posted two games of less than 100 yards passing allowed, and just one game over 200 yards passing.

If Penn State had an advantage,  it would be their very loud and very proud fan base. The environment will be as raucous as any in college football.

It will cause problems for Maiava when it comes to hearing the play calls in his helmet and shouting the snap count at the line of scrimmage.

The Nittany Lions are coming off a two-game losing streak, so they will be fired up for a nationally televised contest in front of 106,000 fans, where the color of the day is white.

In their most recent meeting, Penn State came away with a 33-30 victory in Los Angeles in 2024.

On Saturday night, Penn State will be a -1.5-point home favorite on Saturday.