Do we want USC to beat Penn State? Of course we do. It goes without saying. Expecting USC football to beat Penn State is quite another matter. It’s really hard to trust this team and this offensive line right now against an opponent with a good, tough, physical defense. Penn State defensive coordinator Tom Allen is one of the better defensive coordinators in the country. If we are in the business of telling the truth and saying what needs to be heard — not what people want to hear — we have to say we’re not optimistic about this game against Penn State. We said the following to Nittany Lions Wire earlier this week:
It’s all about the offensive line at USC. Position coach Josh Henson is struggling to bring along the younger linemen in the unit, and USC did not get a high-end offensive tackle (a veteran who would be ready to start from Day 1) in the transfer portal. Oregon and other programs have beaten out USC for five-star offensive line prospects. The Trojans are simply not playing well enough or consistently enough on their offensive line to help quarterback Miller Moss, who lacks the elite skill set of Caleb Williams and was always going to need his line to be very much on point and on task this season. Tom Allen should certainly be able to formulate a scheme which puts USC’s offensive line — and by extension, the Trojans’ offense — in jail on Saturday.
We hope our pessimistic outlook on this game turns out to be wrong … but we need to be convinced that this USC team is capable of something really special. It will take something special to beat Penn State.
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