Penn State walked out of Saturday night’s 31-23 loss to No. 19 USC with the kind of result that changes the conversation fast. The Nittany Lions are now 0-3 in Big Ten play, 0-5 in the five highest-attended games in Beaver Stadium history, and the 114,419 in the building went home with the stadium record and a deflating finish.
Whatever faint College Football Playoff hopes existed are gone now, and with a trip to Ann Arbor coming next week, even bowl security is no sure thing. Against that backdrop, there were a few Penn State bright spots - and a longer list of issues that kept showing up.
Zion Tracy was one of the few players who looked settled. After spending the last three seasons bouncing around Penn State’s defense under three coordinators, he now appears set to stick at safety, which should let Josiah Zayas handle nickel full-time as a true freshman.
Tracy held up well in the new role, finishing with five tackles, a half tackle for loss and a pass breakup. He may be Penn State’s best coverage option at safety.
Rocco Becht also earned credit for giving the offense something workable. Matt Campbell was asked seriously after Week 5 about turning to Alex Manske, and that conversation isn’t going away if the losses keep piling up.
But for now, the most experienced quarterback in college football played like someone who deserves to keep the job. He threw for 289 yards and a touchdown and averaged 9.0 yards per attempt.
Becht is not an elite Big Ten quarterback, and probably not even an upper-half one. Still, he was serviceable, and in Week 6 he may have been the best player on Penn State’s offense. With the lack of talent on this roster, and with Koby Howard out, that level of play is what Penn State needs from him.
Taylor Mouser deserves credit too, even with the final numbers looking rough. He’s taken plenty of heat for Penn State’s offensive struggles, but it’s tough to pin most of that on the play-caller when the quarterback was struggling and the offensive line was getting handled so consistently. Penn State still finished with just a 38% success rate, yet Mouser kept searching for answers.
He leaned on spread looks, pre-snap motion and movement for Becht to help avoid batted balls. He also gave Malachi Goodman extra help at left tackle and found ways to create separation for the receivers. Against one of the worst defenses in the country, the results were still ugly, but Mouser did what he could.
The problems on the other side were more obvious.
Marcus Neal Jr. didn’t play a snap after being the fourth safety off the bench against Northwestern, despite starting most of the season. He wasn’t on the injury report, which makes the message pretty clear: he appears to be out of the rotation after struggling in coverage and not bringing enough as a box safety.
Josiah Zayas got the chance to take over the nickel job with Tracy moving back to safety, and USC freshman Trent Moseley took advantage of the matchup. Zayas was clearly outplayed as Moseley caught nine passes for 111 yards and a touchdown. Zayas did leave in the fourth quarter with an injury, but he returned, so that wasn’t the reason for his rough night.
D’Anton Lynn has almost nowhere left to turn with this defense. He doesn’t have a dependable pass-rusher to build pressure around, his defensive tackles aren’t holding up against double teams, and Kooper Ebel has not been a reliable tackler at MIKE. Even with Lynn’s familiarity with Lincoln Riley’s offense from his two seasons at USC, the Trojans still found plenty of room to operate, finishing with a 92nd percentile EPA/play output despite punting twice.
The run game was another dead end. USC entered the game ranked No. 119 in the country in defensive rushing success rate, but Penn State managed only 68 rushing yards on 31 carries.
Carson Hansen led the way with 28 yards on 14 attempts. There just isn’t a quality Big Ten running back in this backfield, and Anthony Donkoh is the only above-average Big Ten offensive lineman on the team right now.
Game management ended up being the final and most frustrating loss. Penn State repeatedly substituted late on offense, giving USC time to match personnel and forcing Campbell to burn timeouts.
Then in the fourth quarter, on fourth-and-4 from its own 13, Lincoln Riley sent out a strange formation with Jayden Maiva in the shotgun and punter Lachlan Carrigan split wide in the slot. It didn’t look like USC intended to run a play, but it was odd enough to force another timeout from Campbell.
To finish it off, Penn State drew a delay-of-game penalty on third-and-3 with 1:09 left and no timeouts while trying to get USC to jump.
Penn State did respond after last week’s blowout loss to Northwestern, and it was facing a more talented USC team. But once again, Campbell got beaten in the details.
He was aggressive on fourth downs, which was encouraging, and the Nittany Lions didn’t get blown off the field. Still, he hasn’t built much confidence yet.
In Other News...
Penn State's White Out Is Chasing A Beaver Stadium First
Penn States White Out against USC is lining up to be one of those Beaver Stadium nights people talk about for years, and not just because of the matchup. The game has already topped 110,000 tickets distributed, putting it in position to challenge the stadiums single-game attendance mark as renovations continue to reshape the venue and add new premium suites and bleacher seating.
The bigger backdrop is that Beaver Stadiums capacity has crept up this season, giving Penn State a fresh chance to post an attendance number that would stand above the recent records set in 2024 and 2025. If the announced crowd lands where it appears headed, the White Out will not only bring the usual noise and spectacle, it could leave the program with a new benchmark for one of college footballs most iconic settings. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State's Record Crowd Saw A Loss Fans Won't Shrug Off
The biggest crowd ever to pack Beaver Stadium got a game with all the drama Penn State could ask for, and not the ending it wanted. USC came in and left with a win after a back-and-forth night that featured multiple lead changes and scoring drives, the kind of heavyweight matchup that had the place buzzing from start to finish.
Penn State had chances, but USC quarterback Jayden Maiava kept delivering, completing 21 of 33 passes for 301 yards and three touchdowns without an interception. For a fan base that showed up in record numbers expecting a memorable night, this was the sort of loss that lingers, not just because of the result, but because it came in a game the Nittany Lions had every reason to believe they could finish. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State's White Out Just Became A Test Fans Can't Ignore
Penn State returns to Beaver Stadium this week with the White Out backdrop carrying a little more weight than usual. The Nittany Lions are trying to stop a two-game skid, and the matchup with No. 19 USC gives them a chance to reset in front of one of the sports most recognizable atmospheres, with NBC set to carry the game and streaming available on Peacock, FuboTV, DirecTV and SlingTV.
USC arrives with the kind of profile that makes this feel less like a marquee showcase and more like a stress test for Penn States current form. Lincoln Rileys team brings both offensive punch and enough defensive questions to keep the matchup interesting, while Penn State is still searching for cleaner answers under Matt Campbell after its recent slide. For a fan base that treats White Out night as a measuring stick, this one should say plenty about where the season is headed. [Read more 🡒]