Penn State football sustained its third straight loss of the 2026 season and remains winless in the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions (3-3, 0-3 Big Ten) fell to the USC Trojans, 31-23 on Saturday night, despite having the White Out advantage.
This was an improved performance overall for Penn State's offense. The slow Big Ten start had even head coach Matt Campbell questioning if the team had an identity, and the offense was a huge reason why. The run game was weak and the pass game was inconsistent.
Heading into this Week 6 contest, Penn State had the No. 64 total offense in the country, 70th-most total yards of offense (2,000), and 64th-highest yards per game (400.0).
Against their first two Big Ten opponents, though, the blue and white only managed 357 passing yards (114 vs. Wisconsin; 243 vs. Northwestern) and 167 rushing yards (119; 48). In both contests, the Nittany Lions couldn't eclipse the 300-total-yard mark after recording over 400 yards of offense in all three non-conference games.
Big Ten defenses have been difficult for them to find solutions to. On Saturday, though, the offense was aggressive, physical, and fast. There was an identity and comfort within it that was absent from the first two conference matchups.
Rocco Becht quarterback grade for Week 6 vs. USC: B+
After the Week 5 loss to the Wildcats, head coach Matt Campbell had to clarify that putting backup quarterback Alex Manske in the game wasn't even a consideration. Quarterback Rocco Becht's inability to adapt to the Big Ten was a huge concern, and having the Trojans next up on the schedule didn't look like things would get any better for the senior. However, Becht responded, and the push for Manske to get some time should ease up.
Becht was 21-of-32 for 289 yards, one touchdown, and zero interceptions. He finished with a 151.8 passer rating.
Becht utilized the stacked tight end room to his advantage with returning Nittany Lion Andrew Rappleyea having a big game with seven receptions for 63 yards and one touchdown. In the absence of wideout Koby Howard, he kept his confidence in receiver Chase Sowell high. Sowell had four catches for 95 yards on Saturday night, all of which came in the first half.
Becht's arm hasn't been on par with what's expected out of a Big Ten quarterback, but against USC, he looked collected, got the ball out fast, and was more accurate hitting his pass catchers than he was in previous games. Driving down the field was key against the Trojans, and Becht delivered.
The offense looked like it was in a groove for a majority of the game. There was a different level of confidence it played with, and that starts with Becht. When he trusts his receivers and executes the plays, everything clicks for Penn State. Saturday was an example of just that.
What kept Becht out of A territory in this grading was the fourth quarter. The Nittany Lions had a few late-down situations that he couldn't overcome. They were two-of-12 on third down, though they converted on all of their five fourth down attempts.
On third-and-five on a drive that closed out the third quarter and opened the fourth, Becht couldn't connect with tight end Benjamin Brahmer. At this point, USC was up 24-20 and a touchdown for Penn State was crucial given its defense couldn't come up with a stop up to that point in the game.
The Nittany Lions settled for a field goal in that scenario and, as expected, their defense let the Trojans score yet again. USC went up 31-23. On Becht's next attempt to chip away at a deficit, he threw back-to-back incompletions then took a sack for a loss of nine yards on third-and-10. Penn State's defense showed up to get the offense back on the field, but wide receiver Brett Eskildsen dismissed that opportunity immediately as he couldn't secure a 25-yard pass deep up the middle. The Trojans recovered the football with 3:59 left of the fourth quarter and ran out the clock.
Excluding that last incompletion to Eskildsen, which wasn't Becht's fault, having a more impactful presence in big moments would've pushed Becht to that next level. It was a better performance for him and a great response after Week 5. If the Nittany Lions' defense played complementary football, though, there would've been less pressure to do so.
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