The Heartland Line
Film review: Penn State's defense had a plan for USC, and it still gave up 31
An On3 film review of Penn State's loss to USC shows blitzes that didn't get home and a secondary Jayden Maiava kept finding. Michigan comes next.
Penn State's defense went into its home game against No. 19 USC with a specific plan. The Trojans scored 31 points anyway, and a review of the tape explains why.
Thomas Frank Carr of On3 broke down the coaches' film from the loss at Beaver Stadium on Oct. 10 in a film review for On3's BWI. His conclusion matches the headline: the Nittany Lions spent the night trying to cover their own weak spots and never put real pressure on USC's. The review highlights three problems. Penn State's blitzes didn't get to the quarterback, its linebackers and safeties broke down in coverage, and USC quarterback Jayden Maiava found those openings again and again.
The most telling choice was how the staff lined up. According to On3, Penn State dropped eight defenders into coverage for most of the game. That approach gives up pressure in exchange for help on the back end. It is a defense built to limit damage, and against Maiava it didn't do that either. When Penn State did send extra rushers, they didn't get home, so the defense got neither the pressure it gave up nor the coverage it was trying to protect.
The result leaves Penn State at 3-3 and starting to look for answers before the toughest part of its Big Ten schedule. USC moved to 6-1 and left University Park with another win over a ranked-caliber opponent on its record.
The Nittany Lions don't get a soft landing. They head to Ann Arbor on Oct. 17 to face Michigan, a road game that will show whether the coverage problems from the USC tape can be fixed in one week of practice. A fourth loss would all but end any talk of Penn State contending for the conference title and would put real pressure on its bowl hopes in the second half of the season.
The market expects Michigan to win. On Novig, one of the venues listing the game, Michigan is favored at -212 to win outright. The spread is Michigan -5.5 and the total is 43.5. Among sportsbooks, the best moneyline price on Michigan is -220 at Hard Rock Bet. The low total points to a field-position game rather than a shootout, and that would suit a Penn State defense still working out how to defend without exposing its secondary. More details are on the Penn State at Michigan odds page.
For Penn State's defensive staff, the USC film supports what On3 described. Playing safe in coverage didn't keep the Trojans out of the end zone, and blitzing didn't get to Maiava. Before Saturday, the staff has to decide which of those two problems to fix first.
