Penn State’s losing streak is now at three games after the Nittany Lions fell to USC, 31-23, Saturday night in the annual White Out.
With the loss, Penn State now stands at 3-3 overall and 0-3 in Big Ten play. USC is 6-1 overall with a 3-1 conference record.
Here are three takeaways from the game.
The Rocco Becht rollercoaster is in full effect
Penn State quarterback Rocco Becht was off his game for the last two weeks, struggling to get anything going against both Wisconsin and Northwestern. He was inaccurate and indecisive in both games so, naturally, he came out against USC and threw some of his best passes of the season. He finished 21-of-32 passing for 289 yards and a TD.
Becht dropped two dimes to wide receiver Chase Sowell to create explosive plays and helped the passing game get in a rhythm against the Trojans. He was not immune from mistakes, but the highs were incredibly high for the Penn State quarterback, and that’s what allowed the offense to score more points than it did in either of the first two Big Ten games of the season. There’s no guarantee that Becht continues to play like this when Penn State heads to Michigan next week, but there’s reason to believe he can build off what he did against USC. That should allow the Nittany Lions to salvage what’s left of what has been a disappointing season.
Offense has the weapons to succeed
For all the consternation about the Penn State offense heading into the week, it proved it has what it takes to succeed at wide receiver, even with Koby Howard banged up. Chase Sowell once again played at a very high level, hauling in four receptions for 95 yards to pace the Nittany Lions. And he made several big plays that led to Nittany Lion touchdowns.
At 6-foot-3 and 203 pounds, Sowell has the size and speed of a true No. 1 outside receiver and put it on display against the Trojans. If anything, his play makes it harder to believe that the Nittany Lions struggled so much to score in their two previous games against Wisconsin and Northwestern. If Becht had done a better job of getting him the ball, it could have turned the game against the Badgers, and at least could have made the matchup with the Wildcats more competitive. Moving forward, he should be the clear No. 1 for Penn State and should share those duties with Howard once he returns from injury.
Penn State’s defense continues to struggle
The Nittany Lions lost against Northwestern for a lot of reasons, but it didn’t help that the run defense had no answers. That same group ran out of gas against Wisconsin, and on Saturday it couldn’t keep pace with a high-flying USC offense.
Penn State defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn was unable to match his former boss, USC head coach and offensive play-caller Lincoln Riley, allowing the Trojans to gash his defense repeatedly for big gains and confidence-killing drives. The most concerning part of the result was how the Nittany Lions struggled. They were, despite their issues, still very good against the pass entering the game. But on Saturday the pass defense got exposed time and time again, allowing USC quarterback Jayden Maiava to get rolling and light it up to the tune of more than 300 passing yards. And, ultimately, that led to Penn State taking its third loss in a row.
This story was originally published October 10, 2026 at 10:58 PM.
Centre Daily Times
Jon Sauber covers Penn State football and men’s basketball for the Centre Daily Times. He earned his B.A. in digital and print journalism from Penn State and his M.A. in sports journalism from IUPUI. His previous stops include jobs at The Indianapolis Star, the NCAA, and Rivals.
Source: www.centredaily.com
