LOS ANGELES — Penn State makes the long trip to the West Coast this week to take on the University of Southern California in the first-ever Big Ten matchup between both teams.
The game will kick off at 3:30 p.m. on CBS.
Here's a closer look at the matchup.
BETTING LINE: Penn State is a 4.5-point favorite over the host Trojans. The over/under for the game is 50.5.
SERIES HISTORY: Saturday's meeting with be the 11th between Penn State and USC. The Trojans have a 6-4 edge in the series, including a 52-49 victory over the Nittany Lions in their most-recent meeting in 2017 Rose Bowl.
ABOUT PENN STATE: Thanks to their 27-11 victory over UCLA and a chaotic afternoon that saw several top 10 teams suffer upset losses, the Lions jumped up to No. 4 in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll and No. 5 in the ESPN College Football Coaches Poll.
Last Saturday's victory over the Bruins boosted Penn State's record to 5-0, making the Lions the only FBS team in the nation to start each of the last four seasons with a 5-0 record. It's also the first time in school history that Penn State has gotten off to a 5-0 start in four consecutive years.
It's the 35th 5-0 start in school history for Penn State, and its sixth under head coach James Franklin.
Penn State's defense turned in another dominant second-half performance against UCLA, holding the Bruins to minus-9 total yards in the third quarter. The Lions have given up just 17 second-half points all season and rank fourth in the nation in second-half points per game (3.4).
Liam Clifford, the younger brother of former Penn State QB Sean Clifford, had three catches for 107 yards against UCLA. He became the fourth Lion to record a 100-yard receiving game this season, joining Harrison Wallace III (117 at West VIrginia), Tyler Warren (146 vs. Bowling Green), and Omari Evans (116 vs. Kent State). That's the first time since 2017 that Penn State has had four different 100-yard receivers in the same season.
Warren found the end zone against UCLA last week, the 17th touchdown of his career. That's a record for Penn State tight ends.
Warren is Penn State's leading receiver this season, with 23 catches for 289 yards and three scores. Wallace has 14 catches for 230 yards and two TDs, while Evans has 10 catches for 220 yards and two TDs.
Running back Nicholas Singleton did not play last week after warming up prior to the game. He is expected to return to the lineup Saturday. Despite the missed game, Singleton remains on top of Penn State's rushing chart with 408 yards and three touchdowns on 53 attempts. Backfield mate Kaytron Allen, who rushed for 78 yards and a touchdown against UCLA, is second on the team with 367 yards and two scores on 74 carries.
QB Drew Allar leads the Big Ten, averaging 15.08 yards per completion. That mark ranks 9th nationally. For the season, Allar has completed 73 of 103 passes for 1,101 yards and nine TDs, with just one interception.
ABOUT USC: The Trojans were upset 24-17 by Minnesota last Saturday, their second loss of the season. The defeat knocked USC out of the Top 25 in both major polls.
After opening the season with a 27-20 win over No. 12/13 LSU, USC also defeated Utah State (48-0) and Wisconsin (38-21). But the Trojans fell 27-24 to No. 17/18 Michigan before their upset loss to the Gophers.
USC is in its third season under head coach Lincoln Riley, who has a 22-10 record with the Trojans. He led USC to 11 wins and a Cotton Bowl appearance in 2022 and eight wins and a Holiday Bowl appearance in 2023.
Last week against the Gophers, USC tallied 373 total yards, including 200 passing and 173 rushing. Miller Moss threw for 200 yards and a touchdown, finding Duce Robinson for a 3-yard score. Woody Marks rushed for 134 yards and a touchdown for USC.
The Trojans rank sixth in the Big Ten in scoring offense (30.8 ppg), seventh in total offense (442.4), fifth in passing offense (292.8) and 10th in rushing offense (149.6).
Moss has completed 64.5 percent of his passes for 1,398 yards and nine touchdowns (four interceptions).
Marks leads USC with 468 rushing yards and four touchdowns.
On defense, the Trojans rank 11th in the conference in scoring defense (18.4), 10th in total defense (316.2), fifth in pass defense (157.6) and 17th in rushing defense (158.6).
LB Easton Mascarenas-Arnold leads the defense with 36 tackles (19 solo), while LB Eric Gentry has 30 stops, including 6.5 tackles for loss and two sacks.