The fourth-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions came into today’s matchup with the USC Trojans as a 4.5-point favorite, but you wouldn’t know that with how the Trojans played in the first half.
After a USC punt, Penn State moved the ball at will all the way to the SC goal line. It looked like the Trojans defense was going to be in for a long day, but they demonstrated the fight that they have had all year. After a 4th down touchdown conversion was negated due to an offensive pass interference penalty, Penn State settled for the field goal to go up 3-0.
On the next drive, or next play should I say, the Trojans would hit paydirt. Lincoln Riley drew up a beautiful play that had running back Quinten Joyner go in motion from the sideline toward Miller Moss. At the snap, Moss tossed it to Joyner for the end-around sweep. Zachariah Branch was crossing from the other side to give the appearance of a reverse. Joyner faked the reverse, which froze the defense, and then took it 75 yards to the house.
Getting 75 yards on one play will certainly help the stat line, but overall, the Trojans ran the ball really well in the 1st half. They finished with 147 total rushing yards on 11 attempts.
The offense in general was very balanced. Moss finished the half 10-14 for 101 yards and 1 touchdown.
We talked all week about the dominant Penn State pass rush, specifically from the edges, and how SC could mitigate the damage based on their tackle play up to this point.
Riley was very intentional in having a tight end and a running back on either side to help chip on almost every passing play.
So far it has worked as Penn State had zero sacks in the first half, and Moss has seen arguably his best protection since the Utah State game.
There are still 30 minutes of game to play, so USC will need to come out and replicate the success they had in the first half. They need to stay committed to the run and continue with chip help.
The defense has played extremely well. Everyone outside of TE Tyler Warren has been bottled up, and true freshman Desman Stephens II secured his first interception as a Trojan.
Kickoff for the 2nd half is just minutes away. Penn State will start with the ball.