USC doesn’t need Lincoln Riley to guess what Beaver Stadium can sound like. One of his freshmen has already lived through it.
Luke Wafle, the Trojans’ freshman edge rusher, spent time around Penn State during the recruiting process and has a better read on the place than most of USC’s roster. So when the Trojans started working to recreate the environment ahead of their Oct. 10 trip, Wafle wasn’t walking into the unknown.
USC has been feeding crowd noise through the speakers outside the Bloom Performance Center, trying to make practice feel a little less comfortable and a lot more like game day. Wafle, though, had one early reaction that got plenty of laughs.
"It scared me the first time they were doing sound checks and I was walking out of my class," Wafle said, which drew laughs from reporters.
He’s since gotten used to it. And that’s the point. USC wants the noise to feel routine before it becomes part of the real thing.
Wafle’s familiarity with Penn State goes back to his recruiting days. He had a relationship with former Penn State coach James Franklin and his staff, and he visited a Penn State practice in April 2025. He also saw a home game there during the regular season, leaving him with a clear memory of what the atmosphere is like.
"It's electric," Wafle said when reflecting back on his recruiting trip there. "it's a fun atmosphere and all the guys are excited to play."
Penn State made him a priority as a five-star from New Jersey, but Franklin was later fired during the 2025 season. USC, Riley, general manager Chad Bowden and defensive line coach Shaun Nua then pushed hard to land him for the 2026 class.
Now Wafle is part of the group trying to prepare for the challenge ahead by turning the volume up in practice. He said the staff has built the week around teaching and then layering in the crowd noise to help the defense adjust.
"The coaches do a good job throughout the day that'll give us some stuff and some things to work on. We have the crowd noise thing in practice too, which is helpful," Wafle said.
The sound, apparently, is no joke.
"That speaker gets loud. You can hear it across campus," Wafle said.
Wafle said he’ll stick to his “keys” and trust what defensive coordinator Gary Patterson and the defensive staff call. USC heads into the game looking to handle the noise, beat Penn State, and officially clinch bowl eligibility on Oct. 10, while also trying to make an early push in the Big Ten title race and the College Football Playoff conversation.
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