USC 31, Penn State 23: Maiava's touchdowns beat Penn State's field goals

No. 19 USC won 31-23 at Beaver Stadium on Saturday because it finished drives and Penn State did not. Jayden Maiava threw three touchdown passes. Ryan Barker kicked four field goals for the Nittany Lions, and three of them came after the score was tied at 14.

Penn State held a 20-17 lead in the third quarter and was within a point early in the fourth. It never found the end zone after the second quarter. USC improved to 6-1. Penn State fell to 3-3 with its third straight loss.

How it was won

The first half was even. Maiava hit Trent Mosley from 19 yards at 10:37 of the first quarter, and Rocco Becht answered with a 13-yard pass to Andrew Rappleyea at 7:26. Maiava found Tanook Hines from 11 yards early in the second quarter, and Carson Hansen tied it with a 3-yard run at 9:59.

Caden Chittenden's 37-yard field goal put USC up 17-14 with 2:11 left in the half. Barker matched it from 48 yards as time expired, and the teams went in at 17-17.

Barker's 35-yarder at 11:23 of the third gave Penn State its only lead, 20-17. USC answered at 5:38 when King Miller ran in from 13 yards for a 24-20 edge. Barker cut it to 24-23 with a 26-yard field goal on the first play of the fourth quarter, at 14:52.

That was as close as Penn State got. At 11:11, Maiava threw 10 yards to Kayden Dixon-Wyatt for the final margin. Neither team scored again.

The box score shows a game decided on the edges rather than in total yardage. USC outgained Penn State 430 to 357 and had 25 first downs to 18. Time of possession was close to even, 30:08 to 29:52. The gaps were third down, where USC converted 5 of 11 and Penn State 2 of 12, and turnovers, where USC had none and Penn State had one.

Maiava finished 21 of 33 for 301 yards and three touchdowns. Mosley caught nine passes for 111 yards and a score, and Hines added four for 82 and a score. Miller carried 19 times for 102 yards, giving USC 129 rushing yards in all, with Waymond Jordan adding 22 on six carries.

Becht was 21 of 32 for 289 yards and a touchdown. Chase Sowell caught four passes for 95 yards and Brett Eskildsen four for 70. The run game did not help him: Hansen had 28 yards on 14 carries, Becht 20 on 10, and Penn State ran for 68 yards as a team.

Against the number

USC closed as a 1.5-point favorite and won by eight, so the Trojans covered comfortably. On the moneyline, USC closed at -120 and Penn State at +100.

The total closed at 54.5 and the teams combined for 54, so the under came in by half a point. With the last score coming at 11:11 of the fourth quarter, the final stretch went without another point. Full pricing history is on the game page.

What's next

USC has next Saturday off and returns on Saturday, October 24, at Wisconsin on NBC. The Trojans have won two straight since their 41-27 loss to No. 20 Oregon, both by eight points or fewer.

Penn State goes back on the road on Saturday, October 17, at Michigan on CBS. The Nittany Lions are 0-3 in October after losses to Wisconsin, Northwestern and USC, and have scored 23 or fewer points in each of those games.