This could be labeled the Buyer’s Remorse Bowl.
uncertain
This → label → ?
On one sideline will be USC’s Lincoln Riley, still trying in Year 5 to prove he was the right hire to take the Trojans somewhere meaningful.
asserted
he → try → Trojans
On the other will be Penn State’s Matt Campbell, the recent James Franklin replacement who is already making some fans hanker for Franklin.
asserted
fans → make → Franklin
Hired away from Iowa State late in the coaching carousel, Campbell was initially hailed as having salvaged a chaotic search.
asserted
Campbell → hire → search
Back-to-back losses to open Big Ten play — including a 34-13 drubbing by Northwestern — have considerably lessened the level of enthusiasm.
asserted
losses → open → enthusiasm
That makes the game between the No. 19 Trojans (5-1 overall, 2-1 Big Ten) and Nittany Lions (3-2, 0-2) on Saturday at Beaver Stadium something of a midseason referendum on who might qualify as the bigger disappointment.
uncertain
who → make → disappointment
Here are five things to watch in a game scheduled to kick off at 4:30 p.m. PT on NBC:
asserted
things → watch → NBC
Can a team gain momentum from an ugly win?
asserted
team → gain → win
Riley seems to believe so.
asserted
Riley → seem → ?
Needing to score the final 15 points and make a late defensive stop to beat Washington last week may not have impressed many Trojans fans, but it apparently served as a galvanizing moment for their coach.
uncertain
it → need → coach
Riley praised his team’s resolve for rallying past the Huskies amid a home crowd that briefly turned on the coach early in the third quarter, chanting “Fire Lincoln!” as USC fell into a 21-10 hole.
asserted
USC → praise → hole
Those chants were silenced the rest of the way, and Riley said he believed his team may have unlocked something meaningful by the way it pulled together.
uncertain
it → silence → way
“It wouldn’t shock me if in six, eight weeks down the road, whatever it is, if we look back on this and see that game is one of the critical points of the season,” Riley said.
asserted
Riley → shock → season
“I think just the way that it transpired, the way we won the game, winning a game a different way than we’ve won all season, it develops the personality of your team.
asserted
it → think → team
Pump up the volume
The award for the biggest workload this week might have gone to USC’s volume control at its practice facility.
uncertain
award → pump → facility
With the Trojans set to face Penn State at a designated “White Out” game, it was time to bring the noise before taking a cross-country flight.
asserted
it → set → flight
Riley said before the season that the new loudspeaker system had only been pushed to 70% of its maximum.
asserted
system → say → maximum
That percentage undoubtedly rose over the last week.
asserted
percentage → rise → week
“We had it up on Sunday, and they said it wasn’t the loudest,” quarterback Jayden Maiava said, “so I think they cranked it up even more.”
asserted
they → have → it
USC has struggled while traveling multiple time zones under Riley, dropping games at Michigan, Minnesota, Notre Dame, Maryland and Illinois.
asserted
USC → struggle → Michigan
The Trojans also barely beat Rutgers last month on the road, holding on for a 42-35 victory.
asserted
Trojans → beat → victory
Bulletin board material
USC wide receiver Tanook Hines raised a different kind of ruckus given his curious comment when asked what stood out about Penn State’s secondary.
asserted
what → raise → secondary
“Nothing much, for real,” Hines said.
asserted
Hines → say → Nothing
Riley said Maiava, who seemed hesitant to run while playing his worst game of the season last week, was not dealing with any nagging physical limitations after appearing to hurt his shoulder against Fresno State last month.
asserted
who → say → State
That means that it’s entirely on Maiava to get back to the way he was playing earlier this season, when he completed nearly 90% of his passes over his first two games.
asserted
he → mean → games
“Got to play better,” said Maiava, who completed 21 of 34 passes for 245 yards and one touchdown with one interception against Washington.
asserted
who → got → Washington
The Trojans will go against their old defensive coordinator when they face Penn State’s D’Anton Lynn, who returned to his alma mater after spending two seasons at USC.
asserted
who → go → USC
“D’Anton’s a really good coach,” Riley said.
asserted
Riley → ’ → ?
“He’s always done a really good job with the secondary.”
asserted
He → do → secondary
Penn State ranks No. 3 nationally in passing yardage allowed — a measly 119.6 yards per game.
asserted
State → rank → game
Where the Nittany Lions have struggled is in stopping the run.
asserted
struggled → struggle → run
Opponents are averaging 173.2 yards per game on the ground, giving them less reason to throw the ball.
asserted
Opponents → average → ball
The Aporia
