Penn State football: Best wins over 2024 opponents – USC

Today, we continue our series looking at the Penn State football program’s best wins over 2024 opponents with another California school. Next up is the USC Trojans.

The Nittany Lions and Trojans have met ten times on the gridiron since their first meeting in the 1923 Rose Bowl. That matchup was 24 years before the “Granddaddy of Them All” began annually hosting the champions of what would become the Big Ten and PAC 12 conferences. It was 70 years before Penn State football joined the Big Ten.

The Trojans lead the series 6-4. If this was a series about the best game overall, the 2017 Rose Bowl would be here. But the Nittany Lions fell in heartbreaking fashion, losing 52-49 on a last-second field goal by the Trojans. However, from a neutral fan perspective, it was one of the best Rose Bowls of all time.

For Penn State’s best win in this series, let’s travel back nearly 30 years to 1996. The site was East Rutherford, New Jersey, and the game was the Kickoff Classic.

Joe Paterno was concerned with playing the Trojans

Mandatory Credit: Photo By USA TODAY Sports © Copyright USA TODAY Sports

For the young fans out there, the Kickoff Classic was a season-opening regular season game played from 1983 through 2002. Held in late August, it allowed teams to play a 12th (then extra) regular season game.

The game usually pitted two ranked teams. Rule changes regarding scheduling ended the game in 2002.

Penn State football played in the first Kickoff Classic game, a 44-6 demoralizing loss to Nebraska in 1983. To kick off the 1991 season, the Nittany Lions defeated Georgia Tech 34-22.

Heading into the 1996 season, the Nittany Lions had to replace several key players from a squad that finished 9-3 the previous year. The 1995 team had nine offensive players drafted in the NFL Draft; only three starters returned to that side of the ball.

In typical Joe Paterno fashion, the legendary Nittany Lions coach praised the Trojans’ talent leading up to the game. Paterno also downplayed Penn State’s chances to compete, particularly on offense.

Curtis Enis, Penn State football, run all over USC

The Nittany Lions entered the matchup ranked No. 11 and were slight underdogs to No. 7 USC. It took some time for any points to be scored. Both Penn State’s Wally Richardson and USC’s Brad Otton struggled under center. Richardson threw two interceptions in the first half.

However, once a Brett Conway field goal gave Penn State football the lead midway through the second quarter, there was no looking back. Running back Curtis Enis would later score his first of three touchdowns on the day to give Penn State a 10-0 halftime lead.

In the second half, Enis really shined. He barreled over and bounced off Trojan players. There was nothing USC could do to stop the top Penn State back. In addition to his three scores, Enis finished his outstanding day with 241 yards on the ground and nearly nine yards per carry.

Penn State thumped USC 24-7. The Nittany Lions would have shut out the Trojans if not for a botched pitch between backup quarterback Kevin Thompson and running back Chafie Fields. The ball was recovered for a USC touchdown with less than a minute to go.

The Nittany Lions would post a solid season, finishing 11-2 with a victory over Texas in the Fiesta Bowl. The year gave Paterno another top-10 finish, ending at No. 7 in the AP and Coaches Polls.

While Penn State has faced USC twice in the Rose Bowl since the turn of the century, the Nittany Lions last visited the LA Coliseum in the 1991 season. Now conference foes, the October 12 matchup in LA will surely be a good one.

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