Lincoln Riley pushed back against the perception that USC's season has fallen off the tracks after the deflating loss at Minnesota last week dropped the Trojans to 3-2 overall, 1-2 in the Big Ten and entirely out of the AP Top 25 rankings.

"You constantly learn and grow and evolve. That's what these seasons are. These teams just adapt and they grow and they learn, so yeah, I think there's certainly a confidence and excitement," Riley said. "Is there some frustration that we didn't finish those [games at Michigan and Minnesota] off? Sure, there is. Of course, there is. We want to win worse than anybody else wants us to win -- I promise you. But no, we're still a very confident team.

"This isn't some team that has two losses where we got our ass kicked. No, that's not the case. We know what we're capable of and we know that we've got a really good opponent and a phenomenal opportunity coming up here Saturday in the Coliseum."

Indeed, the Trojans do.

USC has a chance to flip the narrative right back in its favor if it can beat No. 4-ranked Penn State (5-0, 2-0) on Saturday in the Coliseum.

That's a big "if," though, as the Nittany Lions have played stifling defense this season -- No. 4 nationally in holding teams to an average of 233.2 yards per game -- and pose a particularly difficult matchup with their strong pass rush against the Trojans' vulnerable offensive tackles.

The opportunity is there for USC to jolt its season back to life, though, if this team can respond to having its backs against the wall.

"I think the most important thing for us right now is everything that we stood for, that we worked for, all the messages that we said to the team and said what we were about, when you face adversity like this that's when that gets tested the most," quarterback Miller Moss said. "So my message to the team was we have two pretty clear choices, to double down on who we are, come closer as a team and go forward with a great opportunity we have this weekend, or let this affect us and deter us from what we ultimately want to do."

The Trojans will reveal Saturday which path they chose.

Let's take a close look at the matchup ...

RELATED: PODCAST: Previewing USC-Penn State | Opposing Perspective: Penn State insider gives insight on Nittany Lions

Who | No. 4 Penn State (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) at USC (3-2, 1-2)

Where | LA Memorial Coliseum

When | 12:30 p.m. PT Saturday

TV | CBS with Brad Nessler, Gary Danielson and Jenny Dell

Radio | ESPN LA 710AM Radio, Pete Arbogast, Shaun Cody, Cody Kessler, Su’a Cravens, Jordan Moore, Jason Schwartz

Betting line | Penn State -3.5 (over/under 51)

Series history | USC is 6-4 all-time vs. Penn State with the last two meetings coming in the Rose Bowl -- a 38-24 win after the 2008 season and a 52-49 win after the 2016 season. The last time Penn State visited the Coliseum was in 1991.

Speaking of that last Rose Bowl meeting, Sam Darnold passed for 453 yards and 5 touchdowns for USC, and he'll lead the Trojans out of the tunnel Saturday.

USC-Penn State connection | Trojans defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn was a three-time honorable mention All-Big Ten cornerback for the Nittany Lions from 2008-11, recording 162 total tackles, including 7 for loss, 4 INTs and 1 fumble recovery.

“It’s exciting. I haven’t got a chance to see them play in person since I played there. So it’ll be cool. Two of my old teammates are on the staff, so it’ll be cool to see them after the game," Lynn said.

USC injury report | LB Eric Gentry will miss his second straight game, CB Jacobe Covington is questionable and TE Lake McRee is nearing a return from his leg injury but his status is unclear for Saturday, though he was active in the early periods of practice viewable by media on Wednesday.

Penn State is in its 11th season under coach James Franklin, who is 93-39 with the Nittany Lions and coming off a 10-3 finish last season.

The team is off to a 5-0 start this year with wins over West Virginia (34-12 on the road), Bowling Green (34-27), Kent State (56-0), No. 23 Illinois (21-7) and UCLA (27-11).

The Nittany Lions are led by one of the top running back tandems in the country in juniors Nicholas Singleton (408 rushing yards, 7.7 yards per carry, 3 TDs) and Kaytron Allen (367 yards, 5.0 YPC, 2 TDs).

Singleton missed the team's last game but is expected back this week. He's rushed for at least 81 yards in all four games he's played this season, scoring a touchdown in three of them.

“It’s two of the better backs we’re going to play all year. They run hard. They’re downhill. But they also have the ability to score at any point in time," USC defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn said. "They make plays out of the backfield in the passing game. Any time you have backs that can do as much as their backs do, it’s tough on a defense.”

Clearing that way for that rushing attack is an offensive line that returned only one full-time starter from last season in redshirt senior right guard Sal Wormley, but it's been a stout unit with junior left tackle Drew Shelton (4 pressures allowed), redshirt sophomore left guard Olaivavega Ioane (1), redshirt senior Nick Dawkins (6), Wormley (1) and redshirt freshman right tackle Anthony Donkoh (4).

At quarterback, junior Drew Allar has passed for 1,101 yards, 9 TDs and 1 INT and also rushed for 3 TDs after throwing for 2,631 yards, 25 TDs and 2 INTs last season.

His top target is 6-foot-6 senior tight end Tyler Warren (23 catches for 289 yards and 3 TDs), who is one of the top TEs in the country. Redshirt junior Harrison Wallace III is the team's top wideout with 14 catches for 230 yards and 2 TDs.

“A lot of personnel groups. A lot of formations. A lot of adjustments. You really have to be on your P’s and Q’s as far as communication," Lynn said of Penn State's offense. "They have the ability to control the ball on the ground, but they have a very explosive offense in terms of plays in the air. So they’re a very tough offense to stop.”

New defensive coordinator Tom Allen, the former head coach at Indiana, is in his first season at Penn State and has picked up right where former DC Manny Diaz (now the head coach at Duke) left off. The Nittany Lions finished second nationally in total defense (247.6 YPG) last season and presently rank fourth so far this fall (233.2 YPG).

The strength of the Penn State defense is its pass rush, led by defensive ends Abdul Carter (22 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 3 sacks, 1 forced fumble) and Dani Dennis-Sutton (2 TFLs, 2 sacks, 1 FF). Carter ranks tied for sixth among Big Ten DEs with 18 QB pressures while Dennis-Sutton is eighth with 16. Defensive tackle Zane Durant (5 TFLs, 2.5 sacks, 12 pressures) is also a handful up front.

Senior safety Jaylen Reed leads Penn State with 33 tackles, including 3 TFLs, and redshirt junior linebacker Kobe King and sophomore linebacker Tony Rojas have 23 tackles each.

Bowling Green is the only team to rush for 100 yards (121) against Penn State so far and the only to average better than 3.2 YPC against the Nittany Lions.

Penn State's stifling run defense is nothing new. Since the start of the 2022 season, the Nittany Lions have held 23 opponents under 100 rushing yards, most in the FBS.

At cornerback, Penn State is led by Florida transfer Jalen Kimber, Georgia transfer AJ Harris and junior Cam Miller, with Harris having the lone interception of the group.

Redshirt freshman Ryan Barker took over kicking duties last week and converted both of his field goals after previous starter Sander Sahaydak had made just 2 of his 5 attempts this season.

Punter Riley Thompson averages 42.4 yards per punt.

Singleton is the team's top kickoff returner, with 4 returns for 76 yards, including a long of 40, while the Nittany Lions haven't produced much in the punt return game.