On Saturday night, the USC football team defeated Penn State 31-23 in State College, Pennsylvania. With the victory, the Trojans improved to 6-1 on the 2026 season and 3-1 in Big Ten play.
What went well for USC, and what went poorly? Here are some positives and negatives from the game:
Positive: Lincoln Riley
USC head coach Lincoln Riley has certainly drawn plenty of criticism over the past few weeks, much of it deserved. On Saturday night, however, he was definitely the better coach on the field, outdueling Penn State’s Matt Campbell.
Positive: Trent Mosley
Playing in his first game in nearly a month, freshman wide receiver Trent Mosley showed why USC’s offense is simply not the same without him. Mosley caught nine passes for 111 yards and a touchdown in the victory.
Positive: Jayden Maiava
Maiava had one of his
best performances as a Trojan against Penn State. Playing in one of the most hostile environments in all of sports, he threw for 301 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions.
Positive: Discipline
After struggling significantly with penalties the past three weeks, USC was much better in that area against Penn State. The Trojans committed just three penalties for 25 yards in the victory.
Negative: Fourth down defense
USC’s defense was actually quite good on third down in the game. Unfortunately, the unit struggled on fourth down, on which Penn State converted all five of its attempts.
Negative: Special Teams
It was certainly not a terrible special teams day for the Trojans. However, USC did miss a long field goal and try a surprise onside kick that failed.
Contact/Follow @TrojansWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of USC Trojans news, notes and opinion.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Positives and negatives from USC’s 31-23 victory over Penn State
