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Smeltzer: Penn State has no Excuse Not to Bully USC

Photo by Matt Lynch, Nittany Sports Now: Cooper Cousins

Penn State shouldn’t just beat USC Saturday, it should bully the Trojans.

I’m not saying Penn State needs to crush USC on the scoreboard the way it did to Auburn two years ago, when it won 41-12.

I’m using the word “bully” more from an aesthetic standpoint.

WHY PENN STATE SHOULD BULLY USC: TROJANS ARE ADJUSTING TO BIG TEN FOOTBALL

A big question regarding every PAC-12 (RIP) team that made the move to the Big Ten this season— Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington— is if these teams would be able to adjust to “smash-mouth, Big Ten football.” None of the other three schools had those questions asked about them more than Lincoln Riley and USC. There was a good reason for this. One of the benefits to hiring Riley from Oklahoma after the 2021 season was that it brought Caleb Williams to Hollywood.

Williams, who came on the scene for Riley and the Sooners midway through the 2021 season as a true freshman. At USC, he was as good as advertised, if not better, for USC.

In 2022, he won the Heisman Trophy and led USC to an 11-3 campaign and sky-high expectations for 2023.

The season turned into a disaster. The team started the season as a national title contender. Instead,  with a quarterback who had just won the Heisman and was months removed from being the slam dunk No. 1 pick in the NFL Draft, USC finished 8-5.

Why did this happen? Well, the Trojans simply didn’t play defense.

Defensive coordinator Alex Grinch was fired with two games left in the season. He deserved to be.

Of the 134 FBS schools, only 13 gave up more points per games than USC. Yeah, that will get you the axe.

To fix things, USC hired its rival’s defensive coordinator, former Penn State defensive back D’Anton Lynn. Lynn had a successful lone season at UCLA in 2023.

WHY PENN STATE SHOULD BULLY USC: PSU CAN RUN, USC CAN’T STOP THE RUN

Things have improved on that side of the ball for USC in 2024. To be fair, there was nowhere to go but up. Through five games, USC ranks 29th in the country in scoring defense, which is a big improvement over 121. So Lynn is doing his job overall thus far. But there’s one thing that is still an issue: USC can’t stop the run.

Statistically, the only Big Ten team worse than USC in run defense is Purdue.

The same Purdue team that has lost games by scores of 66-7 and 52-6.

USC hasn’t lost games by margins anywhere close to that.

Its two losses have come by a combined total of 10 points. But both games followed a similar theme. Against Michigan in Ann Arbor Sept. 21, USC gave up 32 yards passing, yet 27 points.

How did this happen?

Michigan ran the ball down USC’s throat.

Kalel Mullings had a season-high 159 yards rushing.

Donovan Edwards had 74, and Michigan averaged 6.3 yards per carry on its way to beating USC. Two weeks later, Minnesota followed a similar formula. Its top running back, Darius Taylor, had been having an ordinary season.

Aside from gaining 124 yards on 11 carries with two touchdowns against… Nevada, Taylor had yet to have a breakout game. His 64 yards against Rhode Island Week 1 didn’t impress many people, and after the Nevada game, he picked up a combined 70 yards on 23 carries in losses at Iowa and Michigan.

Against USC, he gained 144 yards on 25 carries.

When Taylor needed a blow, Minnesota got production from Marcus Major, who gained 37 yards on seven carries (5.3 YPC).

With all due respect to Taylor and Major, they are not at the level of Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen.

Penn State’s offense didn’t have an identity last season, which was a big reason why offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich— like Grinch— was fired with two games left in the regular season.

A year later, Penn State has re-established itself as a running team, and that was fully on display two Saturdays ago against Illinois under the Beaver Stadium lights.

Allen (18 carries, 102 yards, TD) and Singleton (16 carries, 94 yards, TD) were fabulous, and Penn State’s offensive line simply overpowered Illinois. The next week, Singleton didn’t play, and the run game suffered as a result. Penn State averaged a season-low 2.8 yards per carry.

Unfortunately for USC, it looks like Singleton is back this week, and if he’s healthy, he’s a problem for an opposing defense.

Also unfortunate is that the interior defensive line is missing a key contributor i Bear Alexander, who is sitting out the rest of the season and entering the transfer portal afterward.

Penn State’s offensive line has allowed for Singleton and Allen to have success, and USC’s chances don’t look great against Penn State’s defensive line, either.

USC’s pass blocking got a Pro Football Focus grade of 9.5. at Michigan.

USC ALSO HAS TO HANDLE PSU’s PASS RUSH

9.5. Now, things might not be bad against Penn State, but these tackles going against star defensive ends like Abdul Carter and Dani Dennis-Sutton could spell trouble. Penn State has also been getting pressure from the interior this season thanks to defensive tackle Zane Durant.

KEEP IT SIMPLE

As good as Penn State QB Drew Allar has been at times this season, I don’t think Penn State needs to rely on him a ton to win Saturday.

There’s no reason for Penn State offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki to overcomplicate things. Penn State has proven it can run the ball. USC has proven it can’t stop it. USC could always load up the box and dare Penn State to pass, but if that approach didn’t work against Michigan, which doesn’t have a QB, who’s to say it would work against Penn State, which has a good one?

Penn State will have to work hard to win Saturday.

Although Riley got made fun of for saying his team was two plays away from being undefeated— not a wise choice of words after losing to Minnesota— it was the truth.

USC can play, will be ready to play and will have the advantage of hosting a team from across the country.

A stat that will concern Penn State fans is that Big Ten teams are 1-8 this season when traveling to the opposite coast for conference play.

Well, USC lost two of those games largely because it couldn’t stop the run and got outmuscled. Penn State can bully USC, and I think it will.

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