The Penn State Nittany Lions rallied in the second half to beat the Southern California Trojans in their first meeting since 2017, adding a level of excitement to a stacked Week 7 slate of games.
Kicker Ryan Barker kicked a 34-yard field goal in overtime to secure a 33-30 victory for the Nittany Lions.
The Trojans were looking to rebound from a 24-17 loss to Minnesota last week that bumped them out of the latest US LBM Coaches Poll. Undefeated Penn State could move up after starting the week No. 5 in the poll following a 27-11 home victory over UCLA last weekend.
USA TODAY Sports provides updates, highlights, wild plays, analysis and more from the game. Follow along:
Kicker Ryan Barker kicks a 34-yard field goal in overtime to secure a 33-30 victory for Penn State.
Michael Lantz misses a 45-yard field goal attempt in overtime. Penn State can win the game with a score.
Penn State safety Jaylen Reed intercepts USC quarterback Miller Moss' pass in the final seconds of the fourth quarter. Penn State quarterback Drew Allar throws an interception of his own as time expires. The game will be decided in overtime.
Quarterback Drew Allar shows signs of frustration on the 12-play, 75-yard drive but managed to find a wide-open Nick Singleton for a crucial 14-yard touchdown reception. Kicker Ryan Barker's extra-point attempt was good. The Nittany Lions and the Trojans are tied at 30 with 2:53 left in regulation.
Quarterback Miller Moss finds wide receiver Kyron Hudson for a 5-yard touchdown pass up the middle to put the Trojans back in front of the Nittany Lions. Kicker Michael Lantz's extra point was good and helped give the Trojans a 30-23 lead with 5:56 left in the fourth quarter.
The Nittany Lions settled for a 20-yard field goal from Ryan Barker to end a nine-play, 72-yard drive and even the score with the Trojans at 23.
Penn State quarterback Drew Allar may have cut off some of the momentum the offense had built up in the second half after throwing his second interception of the game. USC's Easton Mascarenas-Arnold intercepted the ball that was intended for tight end Khalil Dinkins.
USC managed to capitalize on the field position and come up with a 39-yard from Michael Lantz to take a 23-20 lead with 28 seconds left in the third quarter.
Penn State forced USC to punt the ball and end an offensive drive that featured defensive end Abdul Carter sacking USC quarterback Miller Moss for a 4-yard loss.
Jaylen Reed also provided a third down stop with an open field tackle following Makai Lemon's catch for one yard on third-and-6.
Penn State has bounced back to even the score with USC at 20 with 4:42 left in the third quarter. Kaytron Allen's 1-yard touchdown run capped off an 8-play, 90-yard drive for the Nittany Lions.
Penn State offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki wastes little time getting creative in the second half.
A flea-flicker put the ball back in the hands of quarterback Drew Allar before he connected with tight end Tyler Warren for a 32-yard touchdown. USC still leads Penn State 20-13 with 12:52 left in the third quarter.
The Trojans lead the Nittany Lions 20-6.
Quinten Joyner and Woody Marks led USC's rushing attack with a strong showing in the first half. Joyner had two carries for 78 yards and a touchdown. Marks had nine carries for 69 yards. Joyner contributed with a nine-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter. Miller Moss completed 10 of 14 pass attempts for 101 yards and the touchdown to Joyner.
Quarterback Drew Allar completed 12 of 18 passes for 124 yards and an interception. Nick Singleton was active for the Nittany Lions, after missing last week's game against UCLA, but was limited to seven carries for 21 yards in the first half. Tight end Tyler Warren had nine receptions for 98 yards.
The Trojans' defense remains solid in the first half after limiting Penn State to another field goal.
The Nittany Lions were denied access to the red zone and were forced to kick a field goal. Ryan Barker's 33-yard kick was good. The Trojans remain in front 17-6 with 2:46 left in the second quarter.
Penn State quarterback Drew Allar threw a pass directly to true freshman Desman Stephens II, who intercepted the ball and returned it 42 yards to put the Trojans back in a position to score. USC converts the turnover into three points after Michael Lantz's 45-yard field goal attempt. USC leads Penn State 17-3 with 10:05 left in the second quarter.
Running back Quinten Joyner scored his second touchdown in the first half to help the Trojans build a 14-3 lead with 13:33 left in the second quarter.
Quarterback Miller Moss threw a 9-yard pass to Joyner before he ran into the endzone untouched. Running back Woody Marks also made an impact on the scoring drive with a pair of runs that resulted in 28 and 21-yard gain right before Joyner's touchdown.
Penn State took the early lead but it wouldn't hold for long after Quinten Joyner provided a response for the Trojans, scoring on a 75-yard run for a touchdown. USC leads Penn State 7-3 with 4:53 left in the first quarter.
Penn State has to finish a 14-play drive with a 34-yard field goal to take the early 3-0 lead with 4:53 left in the first quarter. The Trojans held strong and denied Penn State on three straight attempts in the red zone. USC safety Karmari Ramsey had a key stop with a tackle that brought down tight end Tyler Warren at the 3-yard line on third-and-3.
The Trojans received the ball to start the game but had little to show for it on their opening drive. The Trojans produced just 15 yards on the drive before being forced to punt. Quarterback Miller Moss completed just one pass to Kyron Hudson that resulted in 14 yards and a first down on the second offensive play of the drive.
The Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold returned to the LA Memorial Coliseum to lead the Trojans out of the tunnel before the game.
Darnold has led the Vikings to a successful start to the season as one of two undefeated teams entering Week 6 with a 5-0 record.
Kickoff is Saturday, Oct. 12 at 3:30 p.m. ET (12:30 p.m. local) from the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
The game will be broadcast on CBS, Paramount+, and also on Fubo.
Here are the kickoff times and TV info for the Top 25 teams in the US LBM Coaches Poll. (All times are Eastern):
Here are USA TODAY Sports’ expert picks for all of Saturday’s ranked games.
The Penn State Nittany Lions are favorites to defeat the USC Trojans in Saturday's college football matchup, according to the BetMGM college football odds. Looking to wager? Check out the top college football betting apps in 2024 offering the top NCAA football betting promos and bonuses in 2024.
Here’s who our staff is predicting will win this matchup, and other Top 25 games for this week:
This will be the 11th meeting between the Trojans and Nittany Lions.
The last time the two teams met was in the 2017 Rose Bowl Game in Pasadena. The Trojans secured a 52-49 victory after a strong performance from quarterback Sam Darnold, who was one of several future NFL players featured in the game. Darnold completed 33 of 53 passes for 453 yards, five touchdowns and one interception. Penn State running back Saquon Barkley had 25 carries for 194 yards and two touchdowns. He also had five receptions for 55 yards and a touchdown.
College football delivered again last Saturday with a slew of upsets among the top 10 that caused major changes to the projected playoff field and also left many wondering who the contenders and pretenders are across the nation.
Dan Wolken and Paul Myerberg of USA TODAY Sports discuss these topics and more in this week's version of the College Football Fix.
It's a loaded lineup this week, with three Top 25 showdowns and key conference clashes in every television window. But we think there will be seven must-see games in Week 7: No. 2 Ohio State at No. 3 Oregon, No. 1 Texas vs. No. 16 Oklahoma, No. 8 Mississippi at No. 10 LSU, No. 5 Penn State at Southern California, South Carolina at No. 7 Alabama, No. 19 Kansas State at Colorado and California at No. 24 Pittsburgh.
Eddie Timanus breaks down all seven contests here.
USC defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn is coaching against his alma mater, Penn State, for the first time today. Lynn was a three-time All-Big Ten Conference honorable mention as a cornerback for the Nittany Lions from 2008-11. He finished his college career with 162 total tackles (seven for a loss), four interceptions and a fumble recovery in 47 games played. He started 37 of his last 38 games.
He spent several years as an assistant coach in the NFL before joining the college ranks as a first-year defensive coordinator at UCLA in 2023. D'Anton is the son of former Chargers head coach Anthony Lynn.
The latest US LBM Coaches Poll had some major shakeups after some unexpected results in Week 6, and the top five looks slightly different from the preseason version. No. 3 Oregon jumped up three spots in the poll, while No. 7 Alabama and No. 9 Tennessee both fell five spots after each lost in SEC play. No. 5 Penn State moved up two spots, while USC dropped out completely after being ranked No. 15 the previous week.
Penn State running back Nick Singleton is expected to play against USC. Singleton was not listed on the injury report as "questionable" or "out" when it was released prior to the game. He missed last week's home game against UCLA.
He was participating in drills during the pregame.
After a wild Week 6 of college football, there were some significant changes for the USA TODAY Sports bowl projections. There were four upsets among the top 10 teams, and the impact could be felt from the College Football Playoff down to the rest of the postseason lineup in this week's bowl projections. Leading the winners was idle Texas. The Longhorns are now the top seed following Alabama's stunning loss to Vanderbilt. The Crimson Tide remain in the playoff field but now are slated for a first-round game. — Erick Smith
With Alabama out of the picture after a stunning loss to Vanderbilt, Texas fends off Ohio State and takes over as the new No. 1 in the USA TODAY Sports Re-Rank 1-134.
That makes three teams at No. 1 in as many weeks. Georgia led the re-rank from the preseason until the loss to the Crimson Tide. — Paul Myerberg
The random nature of sports makes it impossible to foresee every game’s outcome. A whole lot of well-lit buildings in the desert stand as testimony to this reality.
College football is especially prone to such randomness. Most of the time, analysts might feel like they have a handle on which team might prevail in a head-to-head encounter. Then there are Saturdays like the one we’ve just witnessed that make us question our entire worldview.
An overreaction? Perhaps, but that’s what we’re here for in this space. Here are the top five overreactions from Week 6, one of the most chaotic in recent memory. — Eddie Timanus
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