How to watch Penn State vs. USC: FREE LIVE STREAM, TV channel for the Big Ten game

The No. 4 Penn State Nittany Lions, led by Drew Allar, will face the USC Trojans, led by quarterback Miller Moss, on Saturday, October 12, 2024 (12/10/2024) at the LA Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California.

How to watch: Fans can watch the game for free with a trial fuboTV or DirecTV stream.

Here’s what you need to know:

What: NCAA Football, Week 7

WHO: Penn State vs. USC

When: Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024 (10/12/2024)

Where: LA Memorial Coliseum

Time: 3:30 p.m. ET

TV: CBS

Station finder: Verizon Fios, AT&T U-Verse, Comcast Xfinity, Spectrum/Charter, Optimum/Altice,Cox,DIRECTV, Court, Hulu, fuboTV, loop.

Live stream: fuboTV, DirecTV Stream

AP preview:

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Southern California’s season is about to end. Penn State’s season looks to be very special.

The Trojans’ desperation and the Nittany Lions’ opportunity appear to be the primary motivators as No. 4 Penn State (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) travels more than 2,500 miles to the venerable Coliseum to face USC (3-2 , 1-2) in the first conference meeting of the college football powerhouses.

USC is still in a bad mood after blowing a fourth-quarter lead in an embarrassing road loss to Minnesota last weekend. The Trojans have lost two of three games, severely damaging their College Football Playoff dreams and putting highly paid coach Lincoln Riley in danger of his second straight disappointing season.

Riley remained publicly optimistic after his recent setbacks, pointing out that the Trojans are just a few games away from a perfect season. Both losses were indeed last-minute setbacks, but that doesn’t change the fact that one more loss kills any chance of getting into the Big Ten and CFP races.

“The most important thing for us right now is everything we stood for, everything we worked for, everything we said – when you’re faced with adversity like that, that’s when they’re tested the most,” USC quarterback Miller Moss said . “We have two very clear options: Either we double down on ourselves, move closer together as a team and take advantage of a great opportunity this weekend, or we let it influence us and stop us from doing what we ultimately want to do.”

While the Trojans’ defense was significantly improved under first-year coordinator D’Anton Lynn, the group struggled against the strong offensive lines and fast-paced games of top Big Ten teams. Another formidable physical challenge, Penn State ranks third in the Big Ten and 17th in the nation in rushing offense, just behind Iowa and Ohio State.

If Penn State can handle the Trojans’ slump, the rest of the schedule will be well-positioned for a good chance at a CFP berth. The Nittany Lions’ formidable defense could be the difference against Riley’s offense, which hasn’t been as explosive this season as it was with Caleb Williams at the helm.

“When you’re a defensive back and have an offense like USC’s, you should be excited about this game,” Penn State safety Jaylen Reed said. “It’s something we want, you know, and it’s something so we can prove that we’re still the best DBs on the market.”

Familiar face

Lynn played four seasons as a defensive back for Joe Paterno at Penn State and made four interceptions.

“It’s exciting,” Lynn said. “You know, I haven’t had a chance to see them play in person since I played there, so it’ll be cool. Two of my old teammates are on the staff, so it will be cool to see them before and after the game.”

Singleton practices

Penn State running back Nick Singleton was active and physical during the portion of practice open to reporters on Wednesday. It’s likely he’s coming back from the ailment that kept him from playing a week ago.

Singleton had to admit defeat to UCLA at the last minute. Kaytron Allen threw 21 balls for 78 yards – but without Singleton’s big-play skills, the offense failed to top 100 yards rushing for the first time in 10 games.

“Obviously he and Kaytron are a great one-two combination, and I think the best in the country,” quarterback Drew Allar said.

Singleton has excelled in Southern California before: He had an 87-yard touchdown run in Penn State’s Rose Bowl win over Utah two seasons ago.

Long journey

For its flight to Los Angeles on Thursday, Penn State had to drive to Harrisburg, about 100 miles south of State College, to obtain a plane large enough to meet all of the program’s requirements, since such a plane does not operate from University Park Airport could start.

“I think we need to discuss expanding the runway here and the airport for a lot of reasons,” coach James Franklin said. “You’re talking about adding another two hours to your trip on top of the flight, and I think the flight is already 5 1/2 hours or whatever. That’s pretty much a whole day.”

Air out

Five games into his second season as Penn State’s starter, Allar has meshed well with new offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki.

Most of it has to do with Kotelnicki’s easy-going nature and his ability to show his quarterback rather than tell him. Allar said he has a better grasp of concepts, which allows him to more accurately predict what a defense will do and where to go with the ball on a given play.

This allowed the Nittany Lions to get a lot more out of their receivers. They have four individual 100-yard receiving games in five games after managing just one in the same span last season.

“I think we do a good job of getting the ball into the hands of our playmakers,” Franklin said. “I still think there are some guys specifically at the wide receiver position that we need to continue to get the ball in their hands to continue to develop that aspect of our offense.”

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Cayden Steele can be reached at [email protected]