Jayden Maiava passed for 301 yards and three touchdowns as No. 19 Southern California notched a 31-23 Big Ten Conference win over Penn State on Saturday in University Park, Pa.
Maiava threw a TD pass to Trent Mosley (nine catches, 111 yards), who had missed the previous three games, and also connected on scoring passes to Tanook Hines and Kayden Dixon-Wyatt.
King Miller took care of matters on the ground for the Trojans (6-1, 3-1 Big Ten), rushing for 102 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries.
Rocco Becht threw for 289 yards and a score for Penn State (3-3, 0-3), which has lost three straight games. The Nittany Lions’ rushing attack totaled just 68 yards on 31 attempts in front of a whiteout crowd of 114,419, a Beaver Stadium record.
With the game tied at 17, USC attempted an onside kick to begin the second half. However, Penn State recovered, setting up Ryan Barker’s 35-yard field goal.
Miller responded with a 13-yard TD run on an option play to put the visitors ahead 24-20 with 5:38 left in the third quarter.
The Nittany Lions chipped away with a field goal early in the fourth, but the Trojans promptly countered with a touchdown drive, capped by Maiava’s 10-yard strike to Dixon-Wyatt with 11:11 left in regulation.
Penn State’s final two possessions ended with a punt and a fumble by wide receiver Brett Eskildsen. USC then ran out the final four minutes.
Both teams scored touchdowns on their opening possessions. USC converted a fourth-and-5 from the Penn State 37-yard line and scored on the next play as Maiava found Mosley for a 19-yard touchdown.
Six plays later, the Nittany Lions found the end zone. Facing a fourth-and-2 from the 13-yard line, Becht connected with a wide-open Andrew Rappleyea to forge a 7-7 tie.
After an exchange of punts, the Trojans took a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter on Maiava’s 11-yard TD pass to Hines, who caught the ball and stretched it across the goal line. Once again, the Nittany Lions answered as Carson Hansen rushed for a 3-yard score to tie the game at 14.
Each team kicked a field goal in the final three minutes of the first half as the teams headed to the locker room tied at 17.
–Field Level Media
