Penn State sets Beaver Stadium attendance record as USC wins White Out game

Penn State packed more people into Beaver Stadium on Saturday night than ever before. The crowd for the White Out against No. 19 USC was 114,419, the largest in the building's history, but the Nittany Lions lost and fell to 3-3.

ClutchPoints reported the attendance figure, crediting Daniel Gallen of 247Sports, who first posted the new record. The Big Lead reported that the crowd broke the stadium's previous attendance numbers. It also noted that about 25,000 more fans usually tailgate outside the stadium on White Out weekends, and those people aren't counted in the official total.

The game went down to the final minutes. USC arrived at 5-1 and left at 6-1. Penn State, coached by Matt Campbell, got a break when the Trojans botched an onside kick and the Nittany Lions recovered it. Penn State still had trouble covering true freshman receiver Trent Mosley. He had been a game-time decision after missing USC's first three conference games with a right knee injury. ClutchPoints reported that Mosley had nine catches for 112 yards with about 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter, including a contested grab that set up a USC touchdown.

USC quarterback Jayden Maiava then threw a 10-yard touchdown pass to Kayden Dixon-Wyatt that put the Trojans up 31-23 late in the fourth quarter. Maiava reached 301 passing yards on that drive and was 21 of 32 at that point. Mosley, Dixon-Wyatt and Tanook Hines all caught touchdown passes.

The crowd stayed put as Penn State put together a long drive in response. On fourth-and-3, quarterback Rocco Becht kept it going with a short completion to tight end Andrew Rappleyea. USC still came away with the win. Becht has had a hard couple of weeks, and ClutchPoints reported that Campbell has continued to back him after poor outings against Northwestern and USC.

The attendance record stands out more because of where Penn State is in the standings. The Big Lead reported that the program's recent two-game losing streak had pushed down White Out ticket prices, which are usually the highest of the season, and the fans showed up in record numbers anyway. The tradition started in 2004. Counting Saturday's game, Penn State is 13-10 in White Out games, according to The Big Lead.

The result matters more than the crowd size. At 3-3 at the midpoint, Penn State can't afford many more losses if it wants to salvage the season. Its offense needs answers at quarterback, and its secondary still has to fix the problems Mosley exposed. USC leaves State College with a ranked team's record and a road win in one of college football's toughest settings.