Penn State vs. USC: Final thoughts and analysis of PSU’s road matchup with the Trojans

Penn State will head on the road for its first West Coast trip to face a Big Ten opponent when they take on USC on Saturday afternoon. The Nittany Lions will play the Trojans in Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Week 7 of the college football season. Here are some final thoughts, questions and predictions ahead of the Nittany Lions’ matchup with USC.

Defense faces its first test

The Penn State defense has been dominant once again this season, but will now face one of the 10 best offenses in the country and let everyone know what the group is capable of. USC is excellent through the air and on the ground, and has the type of weapons that the Nittany Lions usually only see from Ohio State in a season. The Trojans will be capable of stressing the defense in ways that it hasn’t seen yet this season.

They have enough weapons on the outside to find out how good the PSU cornerbacks are, and that’s true of the depth, not just the starters. They have an excellent running back in Woody Marks, who can take over the game on the ground, forcing Penn State’s defensive line — and elite unit — to be at its best on Saturday. Those weapons, along with quarterback Miller Moss, are going to be the first litmus test of the year for Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Allen’s group and will help determine what the ceiling for the team is this year.

Offense should dominate physically

While the defense will be tested, the offense should be able to have itself a day. USC has improved its defense drastically since reshaping its coaching staff during the offseason and hiring D’Anton Lynn, who played at Penn State from 2008-2011, as its defensive coordinator. But that doesn’t mean the defense is good. Right now it’s settled in as a middling unit in the nation — a stark improvement from the one that was outside the top 100 in ESPN’s SP+, a tempo- and opponent-adjusted measure of college football efficiency, but still not great.

The way Penn State tries to win offensively should help it out against the group, too. The Trojans lost to Michigan and Minnesota, two teams who win with physicality and try to dominate the trenches on offense. This year that’s been Penn State’s formula as well, and the Nittany Lions have done it arguably better than those teams have because they have the real threat of throwing the ball at a high level. The PSU offense may not look as pretty as the USC one is capable of looking, but it should be more than efficient enough to get the job done. It will help that star running back Nick Singleton should be back for the game after missing the matchup with UCLA.

Linebacker play will be key

The Penn State defense’s biggest weakness this season has been in the middle of the field. The linebackers have been a mixed bag this season with starters Kobe King and Tony Rojas playing very well for long stretches, but with the rest of the group struggling at times against the run and the pass. Jaylen Reed operating as a linebacker on early downs has helped, but any time the team dips beyond those three players to play at the second level, issues can arise.

Some of the problems are schematic, where the coverage results in Dom DeLuca being asked to play in space against a slot receiver. But the team’s lack of veterans with the athleticism to operate in those areas will be a problem if King and Rojas don’t play most of the snaps on Saturday. While it shouldn’t be enough to sink Penn State, that will be the primary suspect if the defense doesn’t play up to its usual level against the Trojans.

Final predictions

Penn State 21, USC 17: I don’t know that Penn State is going to do what it did to Illinois and UCLA because USC has too good of an offense, but the Nittany Lions should still be able to limit the Trojan offense. I think the PSU offense should score enough, but I’m hesitant to say it will put up too many points against anyone at this point. Still, I like Penn State here in a tight one.

MVP: A.J. Harris. I still think there’s not enough discussion about how good Penn State’s corners have been and that starts with Harris. He’s been excellent most of this season for the program after transferring in from Georgia, and there’s no reason to think he’ll slow down now. I think he has a game that puts his name on the map nationally, earning an interception that seals the game as USC tries to earn a comeback victory late.

The last word

Penn State head coach James Franklin on if the offense is getting the ball to its playmakers

“But, yeah, I think we are doing a good job of getting the ball in our playmakers’ hands. Specifically the guys that have been proven commodities already here at Penn State. I still think there’s some guys specifically at the wide receiver position that we have to continue to get the ball in their hands to develop that aspect of our offense.

The thing that I do think is a positive is there’s been a game where Omari has made some really big plays. There’s been games where Trey has made some really big plays and been very productive. Then obviously Liam this past week and Julian has flashed.

I think that’s helpful. We would like it to be a little bit more consistent, but I think it’s helpful that when you watch our tape or when you study us, all those guys have made plays at times, and that’s concerning that it’s not just one guy that if you stop this guy, you’re going to stop their offense.

Obviously our running backs and our tight ends have been doing it now for a while. Our wide receivers I really feel like they are developing and have really had a nice year so far. I think as you guys know better than me, that was a big question mark going into the season, and a lot of discussion.

I think if somebody would tell you before the season kind of where we were at the wide receiver position currently and you knew that before the season, people I think would be overall pleased but not satisfied. We still want to do develop that area, and I think we’re going to need to develop that area as the season goes on.”