​STATE COLLEGE — It certainly looked like the best, most energized Penn State football effort of the 2026 season.Certainly, this Penn State White Out game in front of a record Beaver Stadium crowd on Saturday, Oct. 10, was the most inspired performance from its staggering offense under coach Matt Campbell, considering the opponent and circumstances.The problem, as expected, was the USC quarterback and his receivers.And the Nittany Lion defense didn’t have nearly enough answers for Trojans’ star QB Jayden Maiava and his fleet of super wideouts, led by Trent Mosely (9 catches, 111 yards).They could not get a stop when they absolutely needed one. And even when they tried at the very end, it was all for naught.Which meant the Lions lost their third straight Big Ten game and are still searching for answers in Campbell’s first season, with another premium challenge coming at the Michigan Wolverines.Here are your grades from PSU’s 31-23 loss to USC in front of 114,419 fans.Offense: BRocco Becht found his mojo again.The QB hit on 7 of his first 8 passes for 131 yards and a touchdown after two weeks of inaccuracy and missteps. The running game still spun its wheels, but Becht’s passing was varied enough to keep a suspect USC defense a step behind much of the night.He found six different receivers, with tight end Andrew Rappleyea his anchor on the night (7 catches, 63 yards, TD). It was tough that the best night of the season for wideout Brett Eskildsen ended by fumbling away the ball on their final, desperate drive.Defense: C-The Lions played hard and fared well enough on limited USC running attempts, which is a significant improvement over last week’s showing at Northwestern.But the lack of a pass rush put too much pressure on the Lions’ defensive backs, especially against an elite talent like Maiava. He was too clean and comfortable throwing most of the night to the tune of 301 yards.At least this group did make a stop at the end to give its team a last-ditch shot. Special teams: A-A solid, steady night from punting to kicking to returns. Kudos to Ryan Barker for nailing the 48-yard field on the final play of the first half, then hitting from 35 yards away on the first drive of the second half. Barker was 3-for-3 on the night.A bonus: Heads-up onsides kick recovery to start the second half. Led to that field goal drive to take the lead.Coaching: BA good night of playcalling for Taylor Mouser with multiple looks and scheming receivers open to keep USC’s defense off-balance.Surprising that the Lions did not dial up more pressure on QB Maiava. You cannot allow that kind of talent to pick you apart. A perfect example was on USC’s touchdown to start the fourth quarter with Maiava waiting patiently until a receiver broke open cross the middle for the easy throw.Overall: B-A close loss with increased energy and purpose were a critical response, at least for the longer haul of the season.They certainly did not give up after last week’s shocking failures.Still,