No. 19 USC beat Penn State 31-23 on Saturday at Beaver Stadium. Quarterback Jayden Maiava threw three touchdown passes to lead the Trojans to 6-1, while the Nittany Lions fell to 3-3.
Maiava finished 21 of 33 for 301 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. King Miller added 102 yards on 19 carries with a 13-yard touchdown run in the third quarter that put USC ahead 24-20.
Takeaways From USC’s Win Over Penn State
USC’s passing attack stayed balanced all night
Maiava spread his three touchdown passes across three different targets: Trent Mosley from 19 yards, Tanook Hines from 11 yards and Kayden Dixon-Wyatt from 10 yards. Mosley led all receivers with nine catches for 111 yards, while Hines added four catches for 82 yards on just four targets, an average of 20.5 yards per catch.
Penn State’s run game never found room
The Nittany Lions managed only 68 yards on 31 carries, a 2.2-yard average that forced Rocco Becht into 32 pass attempts. Becht answered with 289 yards and a touchdown to Andrew Rappleyea, but Penn State converted just 2 of 12 third downs, a number that kept USC’s offense on the field for the extra snaps it needed.
USC controlled the fourth quarter after a back-and-forth first three
The teams traded the lead four times through three quarters before USC scored the only touchdown of the fourth on Dixon-Wyatt’s 10-yard catch with 11:11 left. Penn State’s only answer was a 26-yard Barker field goal that trimmed the deficit to 24-23 but could not complete the comeback.
Player Of The Game: Jayden Maiava
Maiava completed 21 of 33 passes for 301 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions, posting a 9.1 yards-per-attempt average. He also directed a USC offense that controlled the ball for 30:08 and converted 2 of 2 fourth-down attempts.
USC Vs Penn State By The Numbers
USC outgained Penn State 430 yards to 357 total yards. The Trojans ran for 129 yards at 4.3 yards per carry compared to Penn State’s 68 yards at just 2.2 yards per carry. USC finished without a turnover while Penn State lost a fumble, and the Trojans converted 5 of 11 third downs against Penn State’s 2 of 12.
Penn State went a perfect 5 of 5 on fourth down, but the Nittany Lions’ inability to sustain drives on third down repeatedly put them in that position. USC controlled possession 30:08 to Penn State’s 29:52 in front of 114,419 at Beaver Stadium.
What’s Next
USC will host Washington next. Penn State’s next opponent and date will be announced by the Nittany Lions.
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