Penn State football is off to Los Angeles for its first trip out west in the expanded Big Ten conference. One week after defeating UCLA, the Nittany Lions face its crosstown rival, USC.

The Nittany Lions are favored, but are the Trojans being slept on? Let’s preview them ahead of Saturday’s clash.

The Team

USC is 3-2 overall and 1-2 in the Big Ten. The Trojans are coming off a 24-17 loss on the road against Minnesota last week. They’ve played some impressive football, though, including a 27-20 win over then-No. 13 LSU to open the season and a 27-24 loss at Michigan a few weeks ago. USC was ranked No. 11 but plummeted out of the top 25 after the Minnesota game.

Lincoln Riley has been head coach since 2022, with a 22-10 overall record. He infamously left Oklahoma for the job, where he went 55-10 over an eight-year span, including four College Football Playoff appearances.

USC may have lost offensive coordinator Kliff Kingsbury and quarterback Caleb Williams to the NFL, but its offense is still putting up decent numbers under Josh Henson, Kingsbury’s replacement. The Trojans are averaging 442.4 yards and 30.8 points per game.

Meanwhile, its defense took a step forward by poaching Penn State alum D’Anton Lynn from UCLA to be the defensive coordinator. Lynn’s unit is holding teams to just 18.4 points per game, but its 316.2 yards allowed per game has been problematic.

Ryan Dougherty is USC’s special teams coordinator, entering his first year on the job.

USC leads the all-time series against Penn State 6-4. The last matchup was a 52-49 Rose Bowl Trojan victory in 2017.

Offense

Miller Moss is USC’s starting quarterback. He’s completed 64.5% of passing attempts for 1,398 yards, nine touchdowns, and four interceptions.

Woody Marks has rushed for 468 yards and four touchdowns so far. The Trojans also use Quinten Joyner on occasion, who has 212 rushing yards and two touchdowns.

Ja’Kobi Lane headlines USC’s receiving core. He has 21 catches for 235 yards and four touchdowns. Zachariah Branch is right behind him with 21 receptions for 227 yards, although he hasn’t scored a touchdown so far. Kyron Hudson is the third wideout, with 18 catches for 226 yards. Duce Robinson is another name to watch, as he has 147 yards for three touchdowns.

Lake McRee is USC’s starting tight end, with 134 receiving yards and no touchdowns.

Elijah Paige and Emmanuel Pregnon start at left tackle and guard. Mason Murphy and Noa Alani start at right tackle and guard, while Jonah Monheim is the center.

Defense

USC’s defensive line consists of Anthony Lucas at left defensive end and Jamil Muhammad at right defensive end. Nate Clifton and Gavin Meyer are the defensive tackles. Muhammad leads the group with 12 total tackles, while Lucas and Meyer have 10. Clifton has eight.

Mason Cobb and Easton Mascarenas-Arnold are the starting linebackers, while Eric Gentry also sees significant action. Mascarenas-Arnold leads the Trojans with 36 total tackles, and he also has an interception. Gentry and Cobb follow with 30 and 25 total tackles, respectively. Gentry leads the team with 6.5 tackles for loss and two sacks. Meanwhile, Cobb’s two interceptions are a team-high.

Jacobe Covington starts at left cornerback, and Jaylin Smith starts on the right side. Greedy Vance Jr. is the nickelback. Smith has 19 total tackles and two for loss, while Covington has 18 and two pass breakups. Vance also has a breakup.

Akili Arnold is the starting strong safety, and Kamari Ramsey is the full safety. Arnold has 22 total tackles and a breakup, while Ramsey has 20 and three for loss.

Special Teams

USC’s kicker is Michael Lantz, who is 7-for-9 on field goal attempts with a 54-yard attempt as his longest. Lantz also averages 64.4 yards per kickoff return. Eddie Czaplicki, meanwhile, is averaging 50 yards per punt with no touchbacks.

Branch handles both kickoff and punt returns. He only has 15 yards over seven punt returns, while he has 63 yards over two kickoff returns.