Final Takeaways From Penn State's Wayward Loss to USC in the White Out

STATE COLLEGE | Penn State and Matt Campbell welcomed No. 19 USC to a White Out crowd at Beaver Stadium on Saturday night with a chance to change the direction of their season. Campbell could have picked up his first ranked win and first Big Ten victory as the Nittany Lions’ head coach.

Instead, Penn State fell short against USC, losing 31-23 to drop to 3-3 and 0-3 in conference play. Campbell said he saw "growth tonight in some areas," which ultimately didn't manifest on the scoreboard. Here’s the good, bad and ugly from Penn State’s performance against the Trojans.

Good: Rocco Becht improved after early Big Ten struggles

Penn State Nittany Lions quarterback Rocco Becht (3) looks to throw a pass against the USC Trojans at Beaver Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Quarterback Rocco Becht didn’t play well in the Nittany Lions’ first two Big Ten games against Wisconsin and Northwestern. Between those two games combined, Becht completed 54.3 percent of his passes for 357 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions.

Becht was more productive against USC, completing 65.6 percent of his passes for 289 passing yards and a touchdown. He took a costly sack in the fourth quarter that caused a drive to stall after a USC touchdown, but it was still an overall improved performance against a Big Ten defense.

“I thought Rocco certainly gave us every opportunity in the football game to be successful in the game,” Campbell said. “I thought we found a rhythm that we want to play in and that we need to continue to move forward in.”

Good: Chase Sowell becomes Penn State’s big-play receiver

Rocco Becht connects on a deep ball to Chase Sowell pic.twitter.com/TCK6zTkk46
— LandonTengwall (@LandonTengwall) October 10, 2026

Penn State has been missing star receiver Koby Howard, who continues to be sidelined with an injury. When he did play this season, Howard was the Nittany Lions’ threat for big plays, which the offense has lacked without him.

But Chase Sowell has begun filling some of that explosive-play void left in Howard’s absence. Sowell made catches of 47 and 37 yards to finish with four catches for 95 yards. Becht completed 2-of-3 passes that were at least 20 yards downfield.

What’s also good for the Nittany Lions is that Howard could return as soon as next week against Michigan, which he teased in a social media post when it was first announced that he’ll miss extended time. Even if he doesn’t, Sowell could fill in the void after proving his big-play ability.

Bad: Penn State’s lack of pass rush continues

USC Trojans quarterback Jayden Maiava (14) looks to throw a pass against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Beaver Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Penn State’s pass rush was borderline non-existent against USC. Linebacker Tony Rojas had a sack early, but USC quarterback Jayden Maiava had plenty of time to survey the field and throw on most plays.

This was especially true when USC had a third-and-10 at the Nittany Lions’ 10-yard line in the fourth quarter. No pass rusher could generate pressure, giving Maiava enough time to find receiver Kayden Dixon-Wyatt, who ran a route across the field. Dixon-Wyatt scored a touchdown, putting the Trojans up by eight.

Penn State ran three-man rushes on a bunch of snaps, including that touchdown play. They simply didn’t work.

“When you talk about the pressure piece of it, we're going to have to continue to find ways to get creative,” Campbell said. “I think that's an area for us, especially in those third-down situations. Man, they had time to be able to make the plays and extend the play.”

The Nittany Lions waste more red-zone opportunities

Penn State Nittany Lions head coach Matt Campbell reacts from the sideline against the USC Trojans at Beaver Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Penn State stalled in the red zone twice during the second half, forcing field-goal attempts when it came close to scoring touchdowns instead. USC did a surprise onside kick to open the second half, but the Nittany Lions recovered and began their drive at the Trojans’ 47-yard line. Despite that advantageous field position, Penn State settled for a field goal at the 16-yard line.

The offense then had a chance to take a lead at the start of the fourth quarter. However, it kicked a field goal on fourth down at USC’s 7-yard line to keep it a one-score game at 24-23.

This continues a trend of red-zone struggles for the Nittany Lions, who have scored 14 touchdowns on 26 red-zone trips this season. They scored two touchdowns on four red-zone trips against USC. Penn State ranks 17th in the Big Ten in red-zone touchdown rate (53.9 percent).

Ugly: Penn State’s defense didn’t use White Out crowd to its advantage

The Penn State Nittany Lions run onto the field as fireworks explode over Beaver Stadium before a game vs. the USC Trojans. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Penn State started the game on defense, and the White Out crowd got loud with “Mo Bamba” blaring through Beaver Stadium. The only catch was, Maiava orchestrated an eight-play drive to score a touchdown on the opening possession.

“It was an unbelievable atmosphere, and it was one of the most impressive environments that I've been able to coach in and be a part of,” Campbell said. “I think my disappointment is, right now, we can't give them the result that they deserve.”

It never felt like USC was truly intimidated by the White Out crowd, which set the Beaver Stadium attendance record of 114,419. The Trojans had only one pre-snap penalty as Maiava consistently made plays to pass for 301 yards and three touchdowns.

Ugly: Matt Campbell’s timeout usage

Matt Campbell on burning Penn State’s third timeout:

“We had our punt safe group out, (USC) kept the offense out there and we didn’t want to screw around with it.” pic.twitter.com/1WFD902VEY
— Joel Haas (@Joel_Haas1) October 11, 2026

USC got the ball back with 3:59 left in the game and was able to drain the rest of the clock. Penn State was out of timeouts, as Campbell’s usage raised questions.

Campbell burned his final timeout after having a punt-return unit on the field when the Trojans initially lined up to go for it on fourth-and-4 at their own 13-yard line.

“I just didn't want to screw around with it,” Campbell said. “To be honest with you, I wanted to make sure we secured the football if we had the opportunity to do it at the end of the football game.”

The Nittany Lions called other timeouts because of substitution errors. With no timeouts left late in the fourth quarter, receiver Brett Eskildsen’s fumble effectively sealed the loss.

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