For the third time in a row, Penn State finds itself on the losing end of a Big Ten contest. This time, the team looked like it was trying, so that’s progress! The problem, of course, is that the mentality that big them against Wisconsin came back.
The first quarter ended tied 7-7. Jayden Maiava threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Trent Mosley to open the scoring. Rocco Becht answered with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Rappleyea.
The second quarter ended tied 17-17. Maiava found Tanook Hines for
an 11-yard touchdown and USC led 14-7. Carson Hansen then scored from 3 yards out. Officials first ruled him down at the 1-yard line, but a replay review overturned the call. Caden Chittenden kicked a 37-yard field goal to put USC ahead 17-14. Ryan Barker answered with a 48-yard field goal as time expired. The score was 17-17 at halftime.
USC tried to trick Penn State with an onside kick to open the third quarter, but the Lions were prepared for it. With the ball at the 50, the Lions had an easy time moving it to the red zone. This is where the Wisconsin mentality bit them. Instead of going for touchdowns, Penn State settled for field goals.
Twice.
After seeing how they weren’t going to stop USC.
Was a 23-31 loss that much better than a potential 17-31 loss? I’ll never know, but when you’re staring at the barrel of yet another loss, I figured why not go down swinging?
All that said, they did have an opportunity to tie the game in the fourth quarter. Rocco Becht threw a bullet to Brett Eskildsen, which put them well inside USC territory, then Eskildsen fumbled the ball, USC recovered, game over. I don’t know that they would have made the two-point conversion to tie it anyway, but still, there was a shot.
There’s only so many ways to say “Iowa State’s players cannot compete with the Big Ten” before it gets old, so instead I’ll focus on the positives. The offense seems to be getting used to Koby Howard not being there. The defense did not allow 400 yards on the ground. Theoretically speaking, the three toughest games are now behind them.
We’ll see what happens the rest of the way, and we’ll hope the season doesn’t completely go off the rails, but obviously, at this time, it’s time to reset our expectations instead of being angry that they weren’t met.
Stats and Storylines
1 – Only one turnover in the game, the one that cost Penn State. USC fumbled the ball a couple times, but they always managed to fall on it.
Uh-oh – It’s still “a couple of weeks” for Howard, so that means he may not be ready for Michigan. Let’s hope he is available for the second half of the season, because this version of Penn State will need to outscore opponents to win.
