V S . S O U T H E R N C A L I F O R N I A
momentum from that game into a nine-
game winning streak.
But
the qualities that would come to
de, but that game was like a
teaser trailer for the rest of the season,
giving away some plot points without
spoiling the big twist.
You could rewind even further if you
were so inclined – all the way back to
Jan.
2, when Penn State faced Georgia in
the
TaxSlayer Bowl. That's when we got
our
er Christian Hackenberg suf-
fered a shoulder injury and attempted
only three passes in the erward. "We
came together. We would er hal>ime,
look out. Li>o=.
At this point, how can I pick anything
di=erent? No Power Five team scores
more second-half points than Penn
State's average of 29.7; the Trojans aver-
age only 13.3. That's the main reason why
I'm siding with the Nittany Lions. Al-
though USC has a top-25 defense, I don't
believe that its o=ense can keep pace, es-
pecially if the Lions eat their orange
slices at hal>ime.
Against good defenses – and I consider
PSU's to be good – USC averages fewer
than three touchdowns a game. The Tro-
jans only put up 21 against Colorado and
26 against Washington. I just don't see
that being enough.
PREDICTION
PENN STATE................................................ 34
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA.........................28
LOU
PRATO
CONTRIBUTING
WRITER
These two teams are virtually mirror
images in the way they turned around
their seasons behind the leadership of
young quarterbacks with little playing ex-
perience until this year. Both teams were
still recovering from previous NCAA
sanctions, and the coaches appeared to be
on the proverbial hot seat a>er similar
starts (2-2 by Penn State, 1-3 by USC). But
the sta=s and players stuck together and
shocked the college football world.
Yet, once again, the Nittany Lions are
de
