STATE COLLEGE — No. 19 USC football was neck-deep in a game that had the power to define its season; one that could potentially decide its fate in the College Football Playoff. The Trojans led Penn State by just one point at the start of the fourth quarter.
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The Trojans’ passing game went toe-to-toe with the conference’s best passing defense and stacked up three touchdowns to win 31-23 in front of a record-breaking, White Out game crowd of 114,419 fans.
Jayden Maiava’s fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Kayden Dixon-Wyatt gave USC the separation it needed to win the game.
Maiava finished the game 21-of-33 for 301 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. Running back King Miller rushed for 102 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries.
Star freshman receiver Trent Mosley made an immediate impact in his return after missing the last three games due to a knee injury. He scored the first touchdown of the game when Maiava flicked a 19-yard pass across the middle of the field to his outstretched body in the end zone.
Penn State equaled the score on the following drive.
Quarterback Rocco Becht (21-of-32, 289 yards) sent a 47-yard pass to Chase Sowell on the second play of the drive to gain early momentum. It was a tight end, however, who hauled in the touchdown.
Andrew Rappleyea broke to his left for a clear shot at the end zone, and Becht hit him with a 13-yard touchdown pass.
Penn State’s tight ends combined for 92 yards in the game.
The Trojans’ offense ground away against the best passing defense in the Big Ten and scored again through the air at the start of the second quarter.
Tanook Hines showed elite body control when he caught a pass at the 1-yard line and reached his arm out to get the ball over the goal line while Nittany Lions cornerback Joseph Jahmir was wrapping up his legs.
Penn State responded quickly again.
The Nittany Lions continued to gain yardage on chunk plays with a 37-yard pass to Sowell, then switched to its run game. James Peoples rattled off back-to-back 8-yard rushes before Carson Hansen rushed toward the end zone from three yards out, falling into scoring territory with the ball in the crook of his arm.
USC kicker Ryon Sayeri’s 56-yard field goal attempt went wide right of the goalpost on the next drive, but Caden Chittenden found success on a 37-yard field goal with 2:11 remaining until halftime and brought the score to 17-14 in USC’s favor.
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Penn State used a pair of field goals to get the advantage back. Ryan Barker had successful strikes from 48 and 35 yards out for a 20-17 lead. The Nittany Lions had recovered an onside kick to start the second half, setting up a scoring drive.
King Miller added a 13-yard rushing touchdown to give USC a 24-20 advantage, and the Trojans had the chance to make a fourth-down defensive statement when Penn State was faced with a fourth-and-short situation late in the third quarter.
Both teams surged forward with enough force to bring out the chain gang, and it was ultimately ruled that the Nittany Lions secured a fresh set of downs.
Penn State continued a grueling drive that took an eventual 14 plays to go 68 yards. The Nittany Lions were held to a few short gains after the critical fourth down and settled for another Ryan Barker field goal, this one from 21 yards out, to make it a 1-point game.
Kayden Dixon-Wyatt only had one catch in the game when Maiava looked to him, needing a spark.
The freshman burst into a sprint on a corner route left into the end zone, where he beat his defender to make the catch with 11:11 on the clock for a 31-23 lead.
USC came up with two pivotal defensive plays to lock up the win.
Luke Wafle sacked Becht on third down, forcing Penn State to punt with 6:02 left in the game, then the Trojans’ defense forced a turnover on the Nittany Lions’ following drive.
Brett Eskildsen originally caught a pass from Becht, but Christian Pierce was lurking close by and wrapped him up aggressively enough to pop the ball loose. The ball fell at Chasen Johnson’s feet, and the cornerback scooped up the ball.
USC enters the bye week on a two-game win streak and will return to the field on Oct. 24 at Wisconsin