That was the best game Penn State has played in about a month. Although USC pulled out a 31-23 victory, it was a breath of fresh air to see the Nittany Lions fighting and looking competitive for the first time in a few weeks.
The defense struggled a bit, but that was to be expected against an electric Trojans offense. However, the offense finally got in a rhythm for the first time since the Buffalo game, so it wasn’t all bad for Penn State.
But despite the few positives drawn from the game, the Nittany Lions are now 3-3 after a 3-0 start to the season and need a win in the worst way. Here are the five biggest takeaways from the team’s third straight loss.
Missed tackles
Penn State’s defense would have been much better over the last few weeks if they didn’t miss
so many tackles. Most of these situations against the Trojans happened on critical downs, allowing them to extend drives and pick up points.
Overall, D’Anton Lynn’s unit has been solid this season, but tackling is one area where they need to improve. Michigan has some slippery offensive players that can gash the defense next week if they aren’t able to wrap up and bring ball carriers to the ground.
New connections
Nittany Lions quarterback Rocco Becht struggled mightily in the team’s losses to Wisconsin and Northwestern, but now he finally seems to be back on track. A large reason for this is his connection with wide receiver Chase Sowell.
The former Iowa State teammates connected four times against USC for 95 yards. It looked like they were right back in the Big 12 on Saturday night and it did wonders for Penn State’s offense. The emergence of a receiving threat outside of injured wideout Koby Howard opened up the field and made the unit look as dynamic as they have in weeks.
Hopefully this was a sign of things to come for Becht, Sowell, and the entire offense.
Gut check
Regardless of the result, Penn State needed to step onto its home field and fight tirelessly to make the game competitive. The program had been dominated in the previous two games, but they made sure that didn’t happen on Saturday night.
Both sides of the ball were much more physical and it looked like they fed off the energy of the home crowd. In Year 1 under head coach Matt Campbell, this game was quietly an important sign of what to expect going forward.
The team could have packed it in for the year after their season was flipped on its head with back-to-back losses. But they came out with the intentionality and pride, and they proved that Campbell knows how to keep players motivated and bought in despite adversity.
White Out
It clearly didn’t make a difference on the scoreboard, but it was nice to see the White Out still having its classic impact on fans. This game made it clear that Penn State could probably be winless and it would still pack the seats in Beaver Stadium for the most anticipated event of the year.
The crowd was impactful from the opening kickoff and didn’t begin to quiet down until the fourth quarter when the Trojans took control of the game. Despite all the noise about declining ticket sales and a frustrated fanbase, they still showed out and made their presence felt.
Time management
Campbell used his timeouts in some questionable spots Saturday night that ultimately cost the team. He used a timeout late in the fourth quarter when the Nittany Lions were trying to mount a comeback, using the break in action to mull over a fourth-down decision.
They converted, but it’s always best to preserve timeouts for late in the game when you need to get the ball back. Then, later in the quarter, the Trojans lined their offense up for a fourth-down play deep in their own territory that seemed like an obvious situation where they wanted to draw Penn State offsides.
Instead, Campbell used his final timeout which proved to be a costly mistake. Penn State got the ball back, but wide receiver Brett Eskildsen immediately fumbled. With no timeouts left, USC easily ran the clock out and ended the game before the Nittany Lions could ever get the ball back.
Of course, it would have been a tall task for the blue and white to get the ball back, tie the game up with a touchdown and a two-point conversion, and then win in overtime. But we’ll never know how it would have turned out because they couldn’t stop the clock.
Follow Nittany Lions Wire on X and Facebook.
This article originally appeared on Nittany Lions Wire: 5 major takeaways from Penn State’s White Out game loss to USC
