Penn State football: USC odds, injury report, & predictions

Penn State football will face its biggest road test of the season when the Nittany Lions travel to the West Coast for the first time ever in Big Ten play to take on USC. The Trojans fell out of the top 25 after losing at Minnesota last weekend, but this will still be the defining game of the season thus far for the newly ranked No. 4 team in the nation.

Injury Report

Penn State:

Penn State football players out indefinitely with “significant” or “long-term” injuries:

• KJ Winston, S
• Andrew Rappleyea, TE
• Peter Gonzalez, WR
• Jaxon Smolik, QB
• Keon Wylie, LB
• Zuriah Fisher, DE
• Cam Wallace, RB

Penn State football players listed on the program’s Week 6 injury report. Please note that the Big Ten requires updated availability reports to be released two hours before kickoff:

• Nicholas Singleton, RB
• Kari Jackson, LB
• Mason Robinson, DE
• Sam Siafa, DL
• Liam Andrews, DT
• T.A. Cunningham, DT
• Ethan Black, WR
• Kaden Saunders, WR
• Jaylen Harvey, DE
• Donte Nastasi, WR

Star running back Nicholas Singleton did not participate last Saturday against UCLA, a last-minute decision, according to Nittany Lions coach James Franklin. Singleton and offensive lineman Anthony Donkoh, who was hurt against the Bruins, are both hopeful to return against USC.

USC:

The following players were listed on the USC injury report for Week 6:

• Raesjon Davis (season)
• Eric Gentry
• Micah Banuelos
• Lake McRee
• Bear Alexander (season)
• Akili Arnold
• Makai Lemon

Betting Odds (all via DraftKings Sportsbook):

Spread: Penn State (-3.5) vs. USC

Penn State football opened the week as a 3.5-point favorite over USC. The line moved up to 5.5 before it eventually returned to its starting point. The Nittany Lions are 2-3 against the spread this season, while the Trojans are 3-2.

Moneyline: Penn State football -175

Placing a $175 bet on Penn State to beat USC would pay $100. USC leads the all-time series 6-4. USC won the last three games in the series, the most recent being a 52-49 victory in the 2017 Rose Bowl.

The last regular-season matchup was a 29-5 Trojans victory in East Rutherford in 2000. The last regular-season matchup on a campus site was a 38-14 win for Penn State in 1994. The last time the two teams played in Los Angeles resulted in a 21-10 USC win at the Coliseum.

Game total: over/under 51

The total has gone under in four of Penn State’s five games this season and in three of USC’s games this season.

Penn State vs. USC Game Predictions: (5-5)

Mandatory Credit: Matthew O’Haren-Imagn Images

This will undoubtedly be the biggest road challenge for Penn State football this season. Trips to West Virginia and Wisconsin were expected to be difficult, but USC has by far the most talent among those top three away contests. USC is coming off a road loss at Minnesota that saw the Trojans drop from No. 11 to unranked. Whether that will make USC angry or downtrodden heading into this matchup is unclear.

Regardless, Vegas thinks that this one will come down to the wire. Penn State enters as the No. 4 team in the nation, its highest ranking since a road trip to Iowa in 2021 – not exactly a memory most fans want brought back up.

If the Nittany Lions can escape Los Angeles with a win, they will have just a road trip to Wisconsin from being undefeated an top three in the nation before hosting Ohio State the first week of November.

This is a classic spot where Penn State has collapsed in the past. Minnesota in 2019 and Iowa in 2021 are just some of the examples that haunt the Nittany Lion faithful to this day.

While USC isn’t ranked, this game would have been a top-10 matchup had the Trojans handled business against the Gophers last weekend. I am going to predict that Penn State will win, but I wouldn’t be shocked at all if USC pulled off the upset. I think the Trojans cover and the over hits, as the Nittany Lion secondary has shown weakness at times this season.

The key to a Penn State victory will be on the offensive and defensive lines. If the Nittany Lions can run the ball effectively with Singleton and Kaytron Allen, and Dani Dennis-Sutton and Abdul Carter can take advantage of weaker tackles for USC, then this game has the potential to be more like a 2022 Auburn result.

Prediction: Penn State 31 – USC 28

Big Ten bet of the week (2-3)

No. 2 Ohio State (-3) vs. No. 3 Oregon, 7:30 p.m. ET, NBC/Peacock

Make that two weeks in a row that the Big Ten bet of the week has won! This week, we return to the well with Ohio State and predict that the Buckeyes will win at Oregon.

Ohio State seems to be one of just two teams this season that has shown consistency in every game. However, I also feel that the Buckeyes haven’t shown us just how good they can be. The wide receiver room is once again absurd, led by maybe the best receiver in the country, Jeremiah Smith.

While Oregon may be the only team in the Big Ten that could hang and possibly beat Ohio State, I think the Ducks are probably in for a rude awakening in Eugene on Saturday night.

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