Next Saturday is shaping as much as be an thrilling day of faculty soccer with a number of ranked matchups, rivalry video games and essential convention matchups on the schedule. And as Penn State heads west for the primary time in Big Ten play, the Nittany Lions shall be concerned in one of many marquee matchups.
Penn State and USC will kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET/12:30 PT on Oct. 12 on the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, and the sport shall be televised on CBS and broadcast on Paramount+, the Big Ten introduced Monday. The sport will function Brad Nessler, Gary Danielson and Jenny Dell on the decision.
It's the primary matchup between the Nittany Lions and Trojans as Big Ten foes after USC joined the league this season alongside former Pac-12 applications Oregon, UCLA and Washington.
The furthest west Penn State has ever performed a Big Ten sport was at Nebraska in 2012 and 2020. The Nittany Lions misplaced each of these video games. The final time Penn State performed a sport in the Pacific time zone was its Rose Bowl win over Utah after the 2022 season.
This would be the second time Penn State has performed in the 3:30 p.m. ET time slot and the first time the Nittany Lions have performed on CBS this season.
Penn State-USC can have stakes each in the Big Ten and on the nationwide stage. In the newest nationwide polls launched Sunday, Penn State was ranked No. 7. The Nittany Lions are 4-0 total and 1-0 in Big Ten play getting into this weekend's matchup with UCLA. Penn State defeated No. 24 Illinois, 21-7, on Saturday night time.
USC enters its matchup at Minnesota this weekend ranked No. 11 in the AP Top 25 Poll and No. 15 in the US LBM Coaches Poll. The Trojans defeated Wisconsin, 38-21, after a sluggish begin this weekend, and it was a stable bounce again win for USC after it suffered its first lack of the season at No. 10 Michigan, 27-24, on Sept. 21.
The Trojans are 3-1 total and 1-1 in the Big Ten forward of this weekend's sport at Minnesota. USC has a marquee victory on its resume from its 27-20 win over No. 13 LSU in the season opener.
Penn State and USC have met 10 instances ever. The Trojans maintain a 6-4 edge over the Nittany Lions and are on a three-game profitable streak in the collection, together with the 2008 and 2016 Rose Bowls. The assembly in Pasadena, Calif., on Jan. 2, 2017, which featured all-time performances from Saquon Barkley and Sam Darnold and ended in a 52-49 USC victory, was the final assembly between the 2 groups.
Penn State and USC additionally confronted off in the Rose Bowl after the 1922 season (a 14-3 Trojans win) and in the Fiesta Bowl after the 1981 season (a 26-10 Nittany Lions win).
In the ten conferences, Penn State and USC have met on the LA Memorial Coliseum solely twice, with USC profitable each of these matchups in 1990 and 1991. The Nittany Lions returned the favor with wins over the Trojans at Beaver Stadium in 1993 and 1994.
In 1996, Penn State defeated USC at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., and the Trojans returned the favor with a win over the Nittany Lions on the Meadowlands in 2000.
USC is presently in its third season beneath coach Lincoln Riley. Quarterback Miller Moss is finishing 65.4% of his passes, and he is thrown for 1,198 yards and eight touchdowns with two interceptions. Wide receiver Ja'Kobi Lane has been his favourite goal with 19 catches for 221 yards and six touchdowns, whereas the dynamic Zachariah Branch has 18 catches for 217 yards. Five Trojans have at the very least 12 receptions on the season.
Running again Woody Marks has led the bottom sport with 61 carries for 334 yards (5.5 yards per carry) and three touchdowns, whereas Quinton Joyner has chipped in 23 carries for 168 yards (7.3 yards per carry) and two touchdowns.
Defensively, linebacker Eric Gentry, a Philadelphia native, is the main tackler with 30 stops, and he additionally has staff highs with 6.5 tackles for loss and two sacks. Linebacker Mason Cobb has two interceptions, together with a pick-six.
In the Big Ten, USC ranks No. 6 in scoring offense (34.3 factors per sport), No. 13 in dashing offense (143.75 yards per sport), No. 1 in passing offense (316 yards per sport) and No. 5 in whole offense (459.8 yards per sport).
Defensively, the Trojans rank No. 11 in scoring protection (17 factors per sport), No. 16 in dashing protection (149 yards per sport), No. 6 in passing protection (155.8 yards per sport) and No. 11 in whole protection (304.8 yards per sport).
For comparability, Penn State ranks No. 3 in scoring offense (36.3 factors per sport), No. 1 in dashing offense (251 yards per sport), No. 8 in passing offense (245.8 yards per sport) and No. 3 in whole offense (496.8 yards per sport).
The Nittany Lions rank No. 2 in scoring offense (11.5 factors per sport), No. 4 in dashing protection (72 yards per sport), No. 4 in passing protection (154.5 yards per sport) and No. 2 in whole protection (226.5 yards per sport).
Before Penn State can put all its deal with its journey to Los Angeles to face USC, the Nittany Lions might want to handle enterprise at Beaver Stadium first. Penn State and UCLA are scheduled to kick off at midday ET Saturday on FOX.
Daniel Gallen covers Penn State for Lions247 and 247Sports. He could be reached at [email protected]. Follow Daniel on X at @danieljtgallen and Instagram at @bydanieljtgallen.
