It was a familiar tale for the Penn State defense during Saturday’s 31-23 White Out loss to USC.

The group’s inability to pressure Trojan quarterback Jayden Maiava and capitalize on third-and-long situations kept momentum out of reach and ultimately contributed to the team’s third-straight loss.

The Nittany Lions’ persistence in utilizing a three-man rush was questionable and proved to be one of the fatal flaws in Penn State’s scheme on Saturday night.

D’Anton Lynn’s reluctance to blitz packages, including in a third-and-goal situation from the 10-yard line, enabled Maiava to get comfortable in the pocket and a talented USC passing offense to thrive.

“I think, from our end, how many different ways could we disguise coverage, especially post-snap, especially when it got under 15 seconds on the shot clock,” Matt Campbell said of the defensive strategy. “There were moments where [three-man rush] put us in some advantageous situations. You know, I thought the biggest killers were some of the third-down opportunities that we weren’t able to finish on.”

Third down was certainly an issue for the blue and white, who allowed USC to convert 45.5% of the time, compared to Penn State’s 16.7%. Four of the Trojans’ five conversions came with at least five yards to gain, including two on 3rd-and-10.

USC’s ability to extend drives due to limited defensive pressure made it feel like Penn State was never truly in command.

“We’ll have to go back and continue to look at it because I feel like when you think about the Wisconsin game, you think about this game, it’s those third-and-long situations,” Campbell said. “To bust your tail to get to that point and not be able to finish, those are things we got to continue to talk about.”

If it happens once, it’s an accident. If it happens twice, it’s a coincidence. If it happens three times, it’s a pattern.

And for the Penn State defense, the lack of success in coming up in big moments has become not just a pattern, but part of its identity.

Redshirt senior defensive end Caleb Bacon knew well what he’d be up against with a top-three offense in the Big Ten coming to town. Unfortunately for him, knowing and being able to execute are two different things.

“I think it starts with looking at each person, looking at yourself, seeing where you can be better each week in practice,” Bacon said. “Maybe it’s often your fundamentals. Maybe it’s often your get-off. There’s so much to pass rush that I think you gotta look at it.”

It seems like after every loss this season, the team resorts to blaming a lack of preparedness or “basic” execution for its shortcomings.

Despite this, guys like Bacon continue to insist that the team is making steady progress, even with the on-field results being the same week after week.

Campbell believes that at this point in the season, now officially halfway through, the team practicing to become the best version of itself is the only feasible path forward.

“I don’t know if you’re going to, I think, change schematically who we are,” he said. “I think what we have to do is continue to demand to get better, and we have to continue to improve what we are, what we’re doing, what are we gonna be on defense, what are we going to continue to be on offense, and we got to continue to find a pathway forward.”

Following another night of disappointment inside Beaver Stadium, it’s evident this team has some soul-searching to do. The Nittany Lions are still not confident in their defensive identity and are still working through personnel decisions six weeks into the season.

Marcus Neal Jr.’s failure to record a single snap only raises further questions about a defense that has already struggled with consistency.

If Penn State wants to win games in the Big Ten, it starts with breaking the mold the Nittany Lions have created for themselves. Playing more aggressively on defense and becoming disruptors will be pivotal to that change.