No. 4 Penn State goes on the street to the West Coast for a date Saturday with USC in a Massive Ten showdown on CBS. This weekend’s showdown will mark the eleventh assembly between the proud packages and the primary since USC’s 52-49 win within the Rose Bowl over Penn State in 2017. The Trojans lead the all-time sequence 6-4.
The Trojans are coming off a disappointing 24-17 loss to Minnesota. USC had dropped two of its first three video games as a member of the Massive Ten, and a loss to Penn State would make the climb to an at-large bid to the 12-team Faculty Soccer Playoff a steep one. USC had scored at the least 20 factors in 27 consecutive video games — the second-longest streak in program historical past — earlier than a 17-point output within the loss to the Golden Gophers,
The Nittany Lions are coming off a a 27-11 win over UCLA at house and are the one FBS program to start out 5-0 in every of the final 4 seasons. With a win over USC, Penn State could be 6-0 in back-to-back years for the primary time since beginning 11-0 in 1985 and having an ideal 12-0 marketing campaign in 1986.
Right here is every little thing you could know earlier than USC’s first matchup in opposition to Penn State within the common season since 2000.
Observe together with LIVE UPDATES as Penn State clashes with USC on Saturday.
Learn how to watch Penn State vs. USC stay
Date: Saturday, Oct. 12 | Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Stadium — Los Angeles
TV: CBS | Reside stream: CBSSports.com, CBS Sports activities App (Free)
Streaming on Paramount+ with Showtime (Attempt It Free)
Penn State vs. USC: Must know
Penn State wants extra explosive performs: Penn State quarterback Drew Allar has accomplished 8 of 12 passes on makes an attempt of greater than 20 yards, in accordance with Professional Soccer Focus. These explosive performs have accounted for less than 11.7% of Allar’s complete makes an attempt, however the pattern measurement is sufficiently big for Penn State Andy Kotelnicki to dial up extra house run pictures down the sphere. Allar has accomplished 70.9% of his complete makes an attempt for 1,101 yards and 9 touchdowns, however Penn State’s receiving chief is TE Tyler Warren, who has 23 catches for 289 yards. Solely three large receivers (Harrison Wallace lll, Omari Evans and Liam Clifford) have greater than 180 receiving yards.
Penn State will face its largest check in opposition to a stout USC secondary that has allowed solely 157.6 passing yards per recreation — Thirteenth-best within the FBS. If Penn State can discover success within the passing recreation in opposition to the most effective cross protection they’ve confronted up to now this season, it’s going to good omen for what Allar and firm can do going ahead.
Lincoln Riley wants an enormous win to vary the narrative: Riley has struggled in opposition to school soccer’s finest groups since he obtained to USC. Riley is 0-2 in opposition to AP top-10 opponents and 4-8 in opposition to ranked opponents at USC. When Riley was at Oklahoma, the Sooners went 16-6 in opposition to ranked foes and 7-4 vs. top-10 opponents. Riley has misplaced final 4 video games in opposition to top-five groups and have allowed greater than 45 factors in all of these matchups. With USC’s CFP hopes on life help, a win over Penn State would assist begin to change the narrative and get USC again on observe.
Penn State’s Faculty Soccer Playoff outlook: Penn State is in a major place to make its first look within the CFP. The Nittany Lions have one ranked opponent left on the schedule (No. 2 Ohio State on Nov. 2) and an 11-1 end would virtually definitely get them into the sphere. Penn State already has wins over West Virginia and Illinois on its résumé, and USC is likely to be the second-best crew it faces in convention play. Securing a win over the Trojans on the street would go a great distance towards stepping into the CFP and probably the Massive Ten title recreation.
Penn State vs. USC prediction, picks
The largest query coming into the season was how USC’s protection would carry out. On the halfway level, there are extra questions round Riley’s offense than a bunch that has proven flashes below first-year defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn. Penn State and USC have been two of the most effective passing defenses within the nation, so this recreation might come all the way down to who can management the trenches and who can run the soccer higher. Penn State has a dynamic one-two punch within the backfield with Nicholas Singleton and Kaytron Allen, so the benefit in that division ought to go to the street crew. Decide: Penn State -5.5
Which school soccer picks are you able to make with confidence in Week 7? Go to SportsLine to see which groups will win and canopy the unfold — all from a confirmed pc mannequin that has returned over $2,000 in revenue since its inception — and discover out.