There was a lot of talk about airports, body clocks, trips to the West Coast, and how the teams that made the trip fared. Here are some insights into the actual game.

1: USC understood the task

They knew they had to get rid of the ball quickly if they wanted to neutralize the Nittany Lions defensive line, and that's exactly what they did. They used quick passes, screens and misdirections to keep the Lions' defense on its toes, and before you knew it, Penn State was down 14-3 in the second quarter and playing well outside of their comfort zone.

It almost seems like Lincoln Riley is also a great offensive player.

2: Penalties were a killer

Untimely penalties wiped out two Penn State drives in the first half, preventing the Lions from taking control of the game. An offense that hasn't been tested all season had to make a lot of plays quickly to keep the game from getting out of hand early.

As has often been the case this season, the defense needed an entire half to figure out what was happening in front of them.

To their credit, the Trojans had their own share of drive-killing penalties in the second half. After the Lions scored to start the third quarter, USC was forced to negate a potential trip to the red zone with back-to-back penalties.

3: More than a slow start

The Nittany Lions got off to as disastrous a start as they could have imagined. Both the offense and defense got off to a slow start again (with the exception of the Nittany Lions' first drive, see above). Unlike the last five games, however, the opponent took advantage early and often. However, unlike Bowling Green, USC actually had the strength to maintain the lead throughout. After a Drew Allar interception brought the USC offense to the Penn State 30, the Lions faced their first gut-check moment of the season. They were down 20-6 at halftime, their biggest deficit of the year when all was said and done.

4: More than a quick finish

Despite how poor the Nittany Lions' first half was on Saturday, they ran brilliantly in the second. They used two drives to erase a 14-point deficit and tie the game at 20 points. The only thing that kept the third quarter from being perfect was a second interception by Drew Allar on a tipped pass that gave USC a 23-20 lead.

5: The defense came through when it mattered most

With time running out, USC approached field goal range to clinch the victory. After a James Franklin timeout (which many questioned as a bad call), the Trojans attempted another pass to get a better chance at a field goal. Jaylen Reed intercepted it and the Lions took care of business in overtime.

BONUS: Now we know

Penn State has sent Drew Allar wide on almost every play that Beau Pribula has entered the game. The trend was basically fixed. Sell ​​to stop the Pribula run. It was only a matter of time before we found out why Allar stayed home.

BONUS 2: SEC fans warned us

Holy crap, listening to these people call a game is a chore, isn't it? Additionally, commercials (commercials!!) were played over real football games.