Penn State football (3-3, 0-3 Big Ten) fell to No. 19 USC (6-1, 3-1 Big Ten) 31-23 on Saturday night at Beaver Stadium in the 2026 White Out.

Despite the rambunctious White Out crowd backing the Nittany Lions, USC’s offense moved the ball downfield with ease, totaling 430 yards. A crucial fourth-quarter turnover by Penn State’s offense effectively ended its chances to take down a ranked conference opponent in one of college football’s most iconic events.

How It Happened

Penn State kicked off to the Trojans to begin the night. A fair catch set up Lincoln Riley’s offense at the 25, where Jayden Maiava found Zacharyus Williams on an in-breaking route for a 12-yard gain.

The deafening crowd noise caused a false start on USC, but the Trojans earned it back when King Miller dashed for 14 yards. Two plays later, a blitzing Tony Rojas sacked Maiava for a 6-yard loss, but the offense stayed elastic with an 18-yard catch-and-run by Kayden Dixon-Wyatt to move the chains.

Maiava stayed hot, scanning and striking a wide-open Trent Mosley over the middle for a 19-yard touchdown that gave USC a 7-0 lead after Caden Chittenden’s extra point.

Carson Hansen knifed up the middle for a 7-yard gain to begin Penn State’s first drive. Rocco Becht then uncorked a deep ball to an open Chase Sowell for a 47-yard gain that prompted an eruption from the Beaver Stadium crowd. Matt Campbell paused the momentum by burning a timeout with 8:55 remaining in the first quarter after USC strategically substituted slowly.

James Peoples was stuffed for a 1-yard loss out of the break, setting up third down, where Becht checked down to Andrew Rappleyea over the middle for seven yards. On 4th-and-2, Becht found Rappleyea again, this time wide open in the flat for a walk-in touchdown to tie the game 7-7 after a Ryan Barker extra point.

MR. BECHT WOULD LIKE AN APOLOGY. pic.twitter.com/avA07v7IM8

— Onward State (@OnwardState) October 10, 2026

The next Trojan drive began with Maiava flipping a ball to Miller in the flat, but Penn State’s defense corralled the running back for just a 1-yard gain. Rojas and Caleb Bacon combined for another stop. Then on 3rd-and-8, Maiava flicked a ball to the sideline, but Audavion Collins smothered Tanook Hines downfield to force a three-and-out.

Zay Robinson slithered up from Penn State’s 18 to the 30 on his punt return. Becht evaded pressure and dashed forward for a small gain to begin the drive.

Then, Sowell fielded a bubble screen and broke a tackle to move the chains. Becht rolled out to his right and found an open Brett Eskildsen for 10 more yards. Penn State’s offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser tried to get tricky with a backward pass to Hansen, who looked to throw but was brought down for a 10-yard loss, stalling the drive.

Nathan Tiyce’s punt bounced into the end zone for a touchback. Miller totted the rock for a 5-yard gain, followed by a textbook middle-of-field pass breakup by Zion Tracy to set up third down, but Maiava connected with Hines over the middle for a 14-yard chain-mover. Maiava found Williams up the seam for another 22-yard chunk play before the first quarter ended.

Jahmir Joseph thought he had a pass break-up on Hines, but was flagged for pass interference, moving the Trojans up to Penn State’s 8-yard line. Two plays later, Maiava went back to Hines for an 11-yard score. USC went up 14-7 after Chittenden’s extra point.

Hansen fair-caught the kickoff, bringing Penn State to the 25. Peoples carried for four yards on first down, then Becht threw an awkward incompletion that sailed between two receivers. Becht looked for Rappleyea on 3rd-and-6, drawing an obvious defensive pass interference penalty and giving Penn State a new set of downs.

The Becht-Sowell connection flared again with a gorgeous deep ball down the right sideline for a 37-yard gain. Peoples chugged for a pair of 8-yard gains, moving the Nittany Lions inside USC’s 5-yard line.

Then, Hansen tagged in for short-yardage duties. It took the 216-pounder two tries and an overturn, but Hansen eventually thumped into the end zone from three yards out to tie the game at 14-14.

Carson Hansen, the man that you are pic.twitter.com/RIgt0bW5Fz

— Onward State (@OnwardState) October 11, 2026

The Nittany Lions tried to sneak an onside recovery past the Trojans, but Jadyn Ramos fielded it cleanly to retain possession. Two of Maiava’s tosses fell incomplete, bringing up third-and-long.

USC burned the Nittany Lions with a quick screen to Miller for a first down. Maiava connected with Hines again for 17 yards, but a run for no gain and an incompletion brought up another third down. This time, Josiah Zayas and Daryus Dixson held strong in coverage, forcing a 56-yard field goal attempt by Ryon Sayeri that swerved and missed wide right.

The miss let Becht and the blue and white offense set up shop at their own 39-yard line. Gabe Burkle caught a pass from Becht in the flat and turned upfield for a 13-yard gain to kick off the drive. A Peoples run went backward for a 1-yard loss, followed by two incompletions from Becht, sending the ball back to the Trojans with 6:15 left in the first half.

Maiava kickstarted the drive with a quick-hitter to Mosley for 20 yards. Penn State forced USC into another third-and-long, but Maiava evaded pressure from Alexander McPherson off the edge and roped a ball to Hines for a 40-yard chain-moving gain.

Rojas and Jamison Patton met in the backfield to stop Miller, setting up third down. Maiava then scrambled for a 5-yard gain, setting up a 37-yard field goal by Chittenden to give USC a 17-14 lead.

Becht kicked off a two-minute drill with a quick pass to Rappleyea for eight yards. He then found Robinson on a corner route for another 18 yards.

Becht found a trio of short completions, but still fell short of a first down. Sowell was slow to get up, resulting in a 10-second run off. On 4th-and-2, Becht took off for a 10-yard dash to convert and move the ball closer for Barker. Penn State’s kicker nailed the 48-yard attempt to send the Nittany Lions into the locker room tied 17-17.

The Trojans tried a surprise onside kick, but Penn State recovered it, giving the blue and white offense strong starting field position to open the second half. Becht found a rhythm, with completions of 14, five, and 10, but a short run sandwiched between two incompletions forced another Barker field goal, giving Penn State its first lead of the night, 20-17.

The Trojans marched down the field with two chunk plays to Mosley and a 13-yard carry by Miller. Waymond Jordan was stuffed on back-to-back plays, forcing a fourth-and-short, but Miller plowed forward to reset the chains. Two plays later, Maiava and Miller put Bacon in a blender on a speed option, resulting in a 13-yard touchdown by Miller to put USC back up 24-20.

Penn State avoided a three-and-out after Becht connected with Eskildsen on a comeback route to convert on third down. Once again, the Trojans forced Campbell to burn a timeout by slowly substituting.

Becht found Burkle and Rappleyea on back-to-back plays, as the blue and white crept closer to the red zone. After officials initially spotted a first down, they ruled Hansen’s forearm down short of the marker, giving the Nittany Lions a fourth-and-short. Becht was shoved forward via a tush push and, in dramatic fashion, was given the first down after officials measured the chains.

The drive stalled after two short runs and an incompletion to Brahmer, but still ended in points after Barker booted a 26-yard field goal to make it 24-23.

Maiava attacked the middle of the field, gaining 12 yards to Tucker Ashcraft. He tossed two more gains of 11 and 21 to move into the red zone. Riley called three consecutive pass plays. Two fell incomplete, but Maiava found a wide-open Dixon-Wyatt in the corner of the end zone on third down to extend USC’s 31-23 lead.

Sayeri shanked the kickoff out of bounds, pushing the Nittany Lions to the 35-yard line. Becht looked downfield for Eskildsen, who tried to fight through contact, but the officials didn’t throw a flag. Becht scrambled for two yards on third down and then flicked a sidearm toss to Rapplyea to move the chains on 4th-and-3.

Once again, officials overturned their original call on a Becht third-down rush, putting Penn State in a 4th-and-1 situation with 7:19 left. Still, Hansen knifed through the defense to pick up the first down.

The next sequence included Becht missing Sowell on a sideline comeback route, Rappleyea on an out route, and a sack by Luke Wafle for a 9-yard loss. Tiyce punted it away to USC’s 7-yard line.

The Trojans went three-and-out, punting back to Robinson, who was downed at the 40. On the very next play, Becht found Eskildsen over the middle, but the receiver coughed up the ball while being tackled, handing it back to the Trojans.

USC ran the clock out for the win.

Takeaways

• Penn State’s pass defense struggled to limit Jayden Maiava from finding his receivers downfield. Trent Mosley and Tanook Hines, who took shots at the Nittany Lions’ secondary leading up to the game, led the Trojans with a combined 193 yards on 13 catches. D’Anton Lynn’s unit left the middle of the field frequently open, as Maiava completed five of his six attempts for 74 yards over the middle.
• Rocco Becht had his best game since Week 3, completing 21 of his 32 passes for 289 yards. He navigated the pocket with great awareness, turning pressures into short gains with his legs and adding 20 yards on the ground. Becht looked more like the veteran signal-caller he is, reading the field with anticipation and completing high-percentage throws.
• After being trampled for 413 rushing yards against Northwestern last week, Penn State held its own at the line of scrimmage against USC. The Trojans ran for 129 yards on 30 carries.
• Matt Campbell was outmaneuvered several times tonight, calling two timeouts on late substitutions and a bizarre fourth-quarter timeout after Zay Robinson lined up to return a punt while USC’s offense was lined up and threatening to go for it on fourth down.

What’s Next?

The Nittany Lions travel to Ann Arbor to face Michigan at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, October 17, at Michigan Stadium.