{"id":65939,"date":"2024-10-08T16:30:24","date_gmt":"2024-10-08T20:30:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/?p=65939"},"modified":"2024-10-08T13:27:45","modified_gmt":"2024-10-08T17:27:45","slug":"penn-state-vs-usc-preview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2024\/10\/08\/penn-state-vs-usc-preview\/","title":{"rendered":"Penn State vs. USC Preview"},"content":{"rendered":"

The fourth-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions play their next game on Saturday against the USC Trojans.\u00a0 Following four straight games at Beaver Stadium, Penn State travels to the West Coast to take on USC.\u00a0 It is Penn State\u2019s third Big Ten contest of the season.\u00a0 The Nittany Lions defeated UCLA 27-11<\/a> in a Big Ten matchup last week to stay undefeated.\u00a0 This is the fourth season in a row that Penn State has started at 5-0.\u00a0 However, this game starts the tougher part of the schedule.\u00a0 Following USC, Penn State will take on Wisconsin, second-ranked Ohio State, and Washington.\u00a0 Below is a preview of the Penn State vs. USC matchup.<\/p>\n

Similar to UCLA last week, USC is a newcomer to the Big Ten.\u00a0 They moved to the conference this season from the Pac-12.\u00a0 The Trojans enter the game with a record of 3-2 and are 1-2 in their Big Ten games.\u00a0 After a statement win over LSU to start the season, USC has alternated wins and losses.\u00a0 The wins have come against Utah State and Wisconsin, with the losses coming at the hands of Michigan and Minnesota. \u00a0USC peaked at #11 in the rankings this season but has dropped out of the Top 25 after losing to Minnesota.\u00a0 Head Coach Lincoln Riley and the Trojans will be motivated for a statement game against the visiting Nittany Lions.<\/p>\n

#4 Penn State (5-0) at USC (3-2) Preview<\/h2>\n

When & Where: <\/strong>Saturday, October 12, 3:30 pm ET, at USC (Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum)<\/p>\n

Last Game\u2019s Results: <\/strong>Penn State won at home, defeating UCLA 27-11.\u00a0 USC lost to Minnesota on the road by a score of 24-17.<\/p>\n

Last Season\u2019s Results: <\/strong>Penn State finished ranked #13 after a 10-3 season that ended with a Peach Bowl loss to Ole Miss.\u00a0 USC was 8-5, in a season that ended with a win in the Holiday Bowl over Louisville.<\/p>\n

Series History: <\/strong>USC leads the series all-time by a six to four margin.\u00a0 The teams last met in 2017, when USC won 52-49 in the Rose Bowl Game.<\/p>\n

Penn State vs. USC Preview: Nittany Lions to Watch<\/h2>\n

Wide Receiver Julian Fleming<\/h3>\n

The Penn State offense has done enough to win games early this season.\u00a0 However, there are clear areas of improvement needed.\u00a0 The most glaring is the ability to get off to fast starts.\u00a0 Additionally, the offense needs a wide receiver to step up, take the top receiver designation, and run with it.\u00a0 Key to that is the ability of Julian Fleming<\/a> to make himself more of a receiving threat.<\/p>\n

Fleming is a senior but is in his first year at Penn State after transferring from Ohio State.\u00a0 He has not had a great statistical start to the year.\u00a0 So far, Fleming has seven catches for 99 yards.\u00a0 Those figures rank him fifth on the team in both receptions and yards and fourth in the wide receiver corps.\u00a0 He has yet to score a touchdown for Penn State.<\/p>\n

Head coach James Franklin has repeatedly praised Fleming\u2019s ability as an all-around player.\u00a0 He has contributed to Penn State games outside of receptions, including through blocking.\u00a0 However, at some point, a transfer from a conference rival that was expected to compete for the top wide receiver spot at the season\u2019s outset needs to step up.\u00a0 Ranking behind a backup receiver like Liam Clifford<\/a> is not going to cut it.<\/p>\n

Offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki and quarterback Drew Allar<\/a> have made things work so far this season.\u00a0 Kotelnicki\u2019s creativity is apparent, in his game plans, in his play calling, and in the formations the offense lines up in.\u00a0 Allar, similar to last season, does not turn the ball over.\u00a0 So far, he has nine touchdowns with only one interception.\u00a0 As they enter a tougher part of the schedule, Penn State needs more contributions from the wide receivers.\u00a0 In his Monday press conference, Franklin stated \u201cThere are some guys, particularly at the wide receiver position<\/a>, that we have to continue to get the ball in their hands to develop that aspect of our offense.\u201d\u00a0 While different players have stepped up in different games, it should be Fleming\u2019s turn.\u00a0 That makes him a Nittany Lion to watch.<\/p>\n

Defensive Tackle Zane Durant<\/h3>\n

Zane Durant<\/a> has been a stalwart on the defensive line for Penn State so far this season.\u00a0 While other players, such as Abdul Carter<\/a> or KJ Winston<\/a>, have received deserved accolades, Durant continues to just produce.<\/p>\n

The defensive tackle position is a tough one to evaluate based solely on statistics.\u00a0 However, Durant has done well both statistically, and in executing the game plan and occupying blockers so the linebackers and defensive backs can impact plays.\u00a0 He has 12 tackles this season.\u00a0 That ties him for ninth on the team, and first at the defensive tackle spot.\u00a0 His two-and-a-half sacks rank him second on the defense, behind Carter (who was named national defensive player of the week after the Illinois victory).<\/p>\n

Defensive coordinator Tom Allen runs a hybrid 4-2-5 defensive scheme<\/a> that relies heavily on players like Jaylen Reed<\/a> to contribute from a hybrid linebacker\/defensive back spot.\u00a0 Underpinning that position\u2019s success is the ability of the players up front to eat up blockers.\u00a0 On Monday, speaking of Durant, Franklin said, \u201cWe\u2019ve gotten used to defensive ends being disruptive.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know the last time we\u2019ve had a defensive tackle as disruptive as Zane.\u201d\u00a0 Durant\u2019s ability to impact an offense\u2019s game plan, occupy blockers, and open things up for other defenders, make him a Nittany Lion to watch.<\/p>\n

Kicker Ryan Barker<\/h3>\n

In last week\u2019s game against UCLA, freshman Ryan Barker<\/a> was given his chance in the kicker\u2019s competition.\u00a0 He put a good foot forward (pun intended) and should be seen as the leader in the race at this point.<\/p>\n

Barker began to show his value in camp.\u00a0 At times over the summer and spring, he was actually seen as the leader in the competition.\u00a0 However, Sander Sahaydak<\/a> was given the starting job to start the year, for the second season in a row.\u00a0 Similar to last season, it did not go very well as he converted only two of five field goal attempts.<\/p>\n

The other kicker on the roster is Chase Meyer<\/a>, who transferred in from Tulsa.\u00a0 He has experience, converting 17 of 20 field goals last season for Tulsa.\u00a0 He has not been given his opportunity to win the job this season but is there in case Barker falters like Sahaydak has.\u00a0 The importance of the kicker position, especially in close games that Penn State will likely be a part of through this part of the schedule, makes Barker a Nittany Lion to watch.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Photo Credit: Matthew O’Haren-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The fourth-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions play their next game on Saturday against the USC Trojans.\u00a0 Following four straight games at Beaver Stadium, Penn State travels to the West Coast to take on USC.\u00a0 It is Penn State\u2019s third Big Ten contest of the season.\u00a0 The Nittany Lions defeated UCLA 27-11 in a Big Ten […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5172,"featured_media":65949,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5,10906,2],"tags":[32817,7983,837,1746,3440,309,7449,1073],"class_list":["post-65939","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bigten","category-cfb","category-featured","tag-andy-kotelnicki","tag-big-ten-football","tag-james-franklin","tag-lincoln-riley","tag-penn-state-defense","tag-penn-state-nittany-lions","tag-penn-state-offense","tag-tom-allen"],"modified_by":"Kate Pearson Halyburton, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65939","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5172"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65939"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65939\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65949"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}