USC Trojans vs. Penn State Nittany Lions Prediction: Excitement Alert?

The USC Trojans host No. 4 Penn State in a must-win game for the Men of Troy. If the Trojans want to stay in the hunt for the College Football Playoff, they will have to defeat a red-hot Penn State team.

The last time these two teams met was in the 2017 Rose Bowl, where USC came back to defeat the Nittany Lion 52-49.

This season, USC started with a 3-2 record, with the two losses coming in Big Ten play. The Trojans lost both road games when they played at Michigan and Minnesota. Both games offered USC numerous chances to win, but the Trojans repeatedly missed those chances.

“You have to keep an overview. . . This year, if you change two plays, we’re 5-0 and we feel like we’re champs and we’re afraid of being overconfident,” USC head coach Lincoln Riley said Monday, Oct. 7.

Penn State travels to Southern California for a Big Ten Conference game for the first time. They come with a 6-0 record with back-to-back wins over UCLA and Illinois. The Nittany Lions were led by quarterback Drew Allar. The junior quarterback has thrown for over 1,100 yards and nine touchdowns this season.

Earlier this week, USC defensive lineman Jaylin Smith reiterated that Allar is one of the most talented quarterbacks in the conference.

“(He’s a) physical specimen, he’s super tall. Has the arm talent, super strong arm talent. He doesn’t really phase, (he) makes a lot of good throws, great throws actually,” Smith admitted. “He’s a good leader.”

According to ESPN BET, Penn State is the -4 favorite heading into Saturday’s matchup. USC is 9-9 as a home underdog. This is the first time this season that the Trojans are not favored at home. ESPN’s Football Power Index has predicted that USC is the 51.7 percent favorite to win despite being the betting underdog.

If USC can contain Penn State’s offense early in the game similar to UCLA, the Trojans have a chance.

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