My takeaway from tonight’s 31–23 loss to USC: I’m disappointed, but I’m not walking away from this game feeling the same way I did after Northwestern. Penn State competed tonight. They answered USC repeatedly, went into halftime tied 17–17 and took a 20–17 lead in the third quarter. Rocco Becht threw for 285 yards, Chase Sowell gave us some explosive plays, and overall the offense showed more life. But there are still some glaring problems. The tackling has to get better. USC finished with 430 yards and averaged 6.8 yards per play. Jayden Maiava threw for 301 yards and three touchdowns. Too many times Penn State defenders were in position to make a play and simply didn’t finish the tackle. And the timeout management in the second half was terrible. Penn State burned through all three timeouts far too early, including allowing USC to bait them into using the final one with a fourth-down formation deep in USC territory. There was absolutely no reason to leave yourself without a timeout in a one-score game. When Penn State desperately needed those timeouts late, they were gone. That’s coaching. And in a close game against a ranked opponent, those little things matter. The frustrating part is that Penn State still had an opportunity. Down 31–23 with just over four minutes remaining, Becht hit Brett Eskildsen for 21 yards and Penn State was moving… then the fumble ended any realistic chance of completing the comeback. USC recovered and never gave the ball back. Penn State and USC each ran exactly 63 plays and possessed the ball for essentially 30 minutes apiece. This wasn’t a mismatch. USC simply did more with its opportunities: 430 yards to 353, 6.8 yards per play to 5.6, and most importantly, USC didn’t turn the ball over while Penn State did. So yes, Penn State is 3–3 and this season has gone nowhere close to what any of us expected. Franklin needed to go, and I still believe that. But this is clearly a rebuilding year now. I’m looking for improvement, young players developing, better fundamentals and better coaching decisions as the season progresses. Tonight wasn’t good enough. But it was better. Now build on it. 🔵⚪️ #WeAre #PennStateFootball