First Look at Penn State vs. USC: Nittany Lions Surprise as Early Favorites

The Nittany Lions look to rebound at home in their first White Out game under Matt Campbell.

Penn State Nittany Lions football fans cheer before the 2025 White Out game against the Oregon Ducks at Beaver Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Penn State football hosts No. 19 USC on Saturday in a White Out game that will be a turning point of its season. The Nittany Lions enter the White Out with two losses for the first time since 2016, when they ultimately beat No. 2 Ohio State en route to the Big Ten title.

This Penn State team appears a long way from making that kind of run, and fan energy is mitigating. According to StubHub, resale ticket prices for the White Out have fallen 70 percent in the past week, with some seats headed below $100. The price drop was especially precipitous after the Nittany Lions' 34-13 loss at Northwestern.

Still, the Nittany Lions are looking ahead, surprisingly as early favorites over the Trojans. Here's the first look at Saturday night's Penn State-USC game at Beaver Stadium.

Penn State (3-2) vs. No. 19 USC (5-1)

• When: 7:30 p.m. ET Saturday

• Where: Beaver Stadium

• TV: NBC

• Streaming: Peacock

• Series History: USC leads 6-5

• Last Meeting: Penn State 33-30 in OT in 2024

How to watch the Penn State-USC game

Penn State Nittany Lions running back James Peoples (1) runs the ball against the Northwestern Wildcats during the first half at New Ryan Field. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Penn State makes its first appearance this season on NBC's Big Ten Saturday Night broadcast, with former Nittany Lions quarterback Todd Blackledge in the booth. The Penn State-USC game also will stream on Peacock.

NBC is getting USC for a second straight week. USC defeated Washington 25-21 last Saturday night in Los Angeles.

Penn State vs. USC early betting line

Former Ohio State coach Urban Meyer once said that the Penn State White Out is worth a 10-point advantage, which might explain Penn State's early status as a nominal favorite. Both DraftKings and FanDuel listed the Nittany Lions as 1.5-point favorites over the Trojans,

DraftKings also made Penn State a slight favorite on the money line (-108 to USC's -112). Penn State was a 2.5-point favorite over Northwestern on the road before losing by 21.

Penn State and USC in the rankings

USC Trojans quarterback Jayden Maiava (14) passes the ball against the Washington Huskies during the fourth quarter at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

USC is ranked 17th in the Coaches Poll and No. 19 in the AP Top 25. For the first time this season, Penn State did not receive votes in either poll.

According to ESPN's College Football Power Index, however, USC and Penn State aren't that far apart. The FPI has USC at No. 19, just one spot ahead of Penn State at No. 20. The Nittany Lions fell only five spots in the FPI after their 34-13 loss to Northwestern.

What to know about Penn State

Penn State Nittany Lions head coach Matt Campbell looks on from the sideline vs. the Wisconsin Badgers at Beaver Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Nittany Lions added a new cleanup-in-aisle-four to their list last Friday at Northwestern: run defense. Wildcats offensive coordinator Chip Kelly ran his version of a Wing-T offense to generate 413 yards rushing, the fourth-most against Penn State since 1947.

Penn State's defensive line often got washed out of plays, and linebackers either missed tackles or couldn't get off blocks by the Northwestern linemen. The Wildcats took two backs over 160 yards and averaged 9.5 yards per run on first down. The breakdowns were multiple.

Meanwhile, Penn State's offense has its own run-game problem. The Nittany Lions generated a season-low 48 rushing yards against the Wildcats, which did not help quarterback Rocco Becht. However, the fourth-year starter also didn't help the run game by completing 12 of 19 passes in the first half.

Becht has played one of the more inconsistent two-games stretches of his career, which his PFF grades underscored. After a three-game run of near-elite marks, Becht has averaged a grade of 48.4 in the Big Ten. According to PFF, average performance starts at 60.

Penn State coach Matt Campbell said he didn't consider removing Becht from the Northwestern game and certainly won't make any move ahead of the USC game. Becht simply must work his way out of it.

What to know about the USC Trojans

USC Trojans quarterback Jayden Maiava (14) passes the ball against the Washington Huskies during the third quarter at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

USC coach Lincoln Riley can't escape the calls for his job even in a win. The Trojans overcame an 11-point, second-half deficit to beat Washington 25-21 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, where "Fire Lincoln" chants reverberated from the USC student section.

The Trojans needed defensive tackle Jahkeem Stewart to return a fumble 48 yards for a touchdown to jumpstart their rally from being down 21-10 to the Huskies. Quarterback Jayden Maiava overcame a sluggish start to complete a 10-yard touchdown pass Tanook Hines to get the comeback going.

But the Trojans now have to fight the travel narrative that has followed them since joining the Big Ten in 2024. USC is 2-2 in Big Ten games in the Eastern time zone since joining the conference. However, its wins were over Purdue in 2025 (when the Boilermakers went winless) and Rutgers this year with a 42-35 escape from Piscataway.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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