How to watch USC vs. Penn State: Broadcast info, series history, game notes, more

Week seven of the college football season is here and it is the most anticipated Saturday of the regular season. That's because the sport will see some of the heaviest of the heavyweights square off this weekend.

One game that has the nation's attention is the matchup between USC and No. 4 Penn State. Now a conference matchup, this cross-country showdown will pit two of America's blue-blood programs against one another for the first time since 2017's Rose Bowl.

As this game arrives, these two teams are headed in opposite directions. USC is reeling a bit. Having lost two of their last three games (all in the Big Ten) the Trojans have fallen out of the rankings and have had several of their flaws exposed in the process.

Penn State, on the other hand, is undefeated and has looked like a Big Ten title contender since week one. The Nittany Lions are solid across the board with a defense that ranks 4th in the nation in yards allowed (233.2 per game) and an offense that ranks 22nd in yards gained (461.8 per game).

However, one factor that could be in USC's favor is playing at home against an Eastern time zone program. That's because Big Ten teams in 2024 are just 1-7 when having to travel two or more time zones away from home.

USC fans know the difficulty of cross-country travel as the Trojans have lost two games this year when having to cross two time zones (at Michigan and Minnesota). Now, it will be fascinating to see how the Nittany Lions handle that challenge this weekend.

In fact, Penn State is flying out a day earlier than normal and is flying out of an airport two hours away from its campus in order to be able to fly on a plane big enough to have reclining seats for the entire team.

“We cannot fly out of State College," Penn State head coach James Franklin said this week. "That was a big part of our discussions with the Big Ten when all this got started. Not only are we one of the most northeast schools, but based on runway length, size of the plane, weight of the plane, and fuel on the plane, we can’t get out of here unless we stop for fuel, so, with that, we’ve got to fly out of Harrisburg.”

Of course, USC will have similar logistical considerations to make next week when the Trojans fly across the country to take on Maryland. But this week, they hope that playing in Los Angeles is a huge boost.

With that in mind, let's look at the game information for this highly anticipated matchup. And we'll start with the broadcast information.

USC vs. Penn State broadcast info

TV: 12:30 p.m. (PT), CBS, Brad Nessler, Gary Danielson and Jenny Dell

Radio: 10:30 a.m. (PT), ESPN LA 710AM Radio, Pete Arbogast, Shaun Cody, Cody Kessler, Su’a Cravens, Jordan Moore, Jason Schwartz (includes 2-hour post-game show).

Satellite: SiriusXM satellite radio (channels 197, 198, 397 or 959 and 960 on the app)

USC vs. Penn State series history

USC all-time record: 6-0-4
First meeting: 1923 (14-3 USC in Pasadena, CA)
Most recent meeting: 2017 (52-49 USC in Pasadena, CA)

USC vs. Penn State weather forecast

High: 81
Low: 56
Skies: Partly cloudy
Winds: SSE 5MPH
Humidity: 58%
Precipitation: 5%

USC vs. Penn State game notes

All game notes provided by USCTrojans.com.

• Both programs rank among the Top 10 in career wins (Penn State is seventh with 935, USC is 10th with 878) and winning percentage (USC is eighth at .695, Penn State is nineth at .690). (USC not including 14 wins and 1 loss vacated due to NCAA penalty; original record: 892, .698.)

• USC has a 318-128-19 (.704) record while playing in the month of October (not including 5 wins vacated due to NCAA penalty; revised record: 323-128-19, .707).

• The last time USC had 2 home games begin in the 12 p.m. hour was in 2013 when USC played Boston College at 12 p.m. PT (a 35-7 win) and Utah State at 12:30 p.m. PT (a 17-14 win).

• The last time USC hosted and defeated an AP Top 4 team in the Coliseum was in 2015. The unranked Trojans upset No. 3 ranked Utah 42-24. Freshman LB Cameron Smith notably recorded 3 INTs, including 1 pick-6.

• The last time USC beat an AP Top 4 team was when USC upset No. 4 Washington in Seattle in 2016. The Trojans won 26-13 snapping the Huskies’ 12-game winning streak.

• USC has 1 player from the state of Pennsylvania (LB Eric Gentry), while Penn State has 1 player from the state of California (K Chase Meyer).

• USC Defensive Coordinator D’Anton Lynn was a three-time All-Big Ten honorable mention cornerback for Penn State while playing for the Nittany Lions from 2008-11. He recorded 162 total tackles, including 7 for loss, 4 INTs and 1 fumble recovery, while starting 37 of his last 38 games played.