One of the newest features of USC’s new Bloom Football Performance Center is its state of art sound system. On Tuesday afternoon, part of the school’s campus echoed with loud noises coming from the new facility.
As the No. 19 Trojans prepare for this Saturday’s road trip to University Park to face off against Penn State, they utilized the speakers to simulate the intense noise that they’ll face.
The sounds included a mixture of crowd cheers and music during Tuesday afternoon’s practice.
The Intensity of Playing in Happy Valley
This isn’t just another road trip for the Trojans; it’s really the first time this year that they go into a deafening environment. The Penn State match marks only the second road game this year for USC.
Penn State’s Beaver Stadium is notorious for giving visiting opponents a tough time. Many will recall the infamous 2019 White Out game between Penn State and Michigan, where the Nittany Lions fans erupted in tremendous noise as soon as the Wolverines took the field for their opening play singing in chorus to Sheck Wes’ “Mo Bomba.”
The crowd was so loud that it forced Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh to call a very early timeout.
With a capacity of over 106,000, it ranks second in capacity among college football stadiums, just behind the Wolverines’ Michigan Stadium. Penn State has packed in over 110,000 fans in certain occasions, the most recent the 2025 White Out game against Oregon.
Saturday’s matchup against the Trojans will be this year’s White Out game for the Nittany Lions.
But what perhaps make this the Trojans practice so important are the constant struggles the Trojans have had with road games.
In their game against Rutgers this season, USC was expected to dominate in Piscataway. That didn’t happen as Rutgers kept up with the Trojans to just a 42-35 loss. The Trojans will have to fight off the road struggles while shaking off the crowd noise.
Penn State’s Struggles Affecting Ticket Sales
To USC advantage, the Nittany Lions have had a rough going in Big Ten play. They are currently 0-2 in the conference after dropping back-to-back games against Wisconsin and Northwestern.
This has led to a rapid decline in the price of ticket sales for their matchup against the Trojans. The secondary market has seen over a 75 percent decrease since the two losses.
Still, a numerous crowd will likely still make the trip to Happy Valley on Saturday. The Trojans haven’t played in University Park since 1994 when they lost a one-sided 38-14 game.
There is a lot on the line for both sides. USC coach Lincoln Riley is urgently seeking a good road performance before heading into the toughest part of his schedule. While Penn State desperately needs a win to bounce back from their losses.
“You have to have an awareness of it. Obviously, the place has a really good reputation in terms of the atmosphere and some of the challenges that that provides,” Riley said of playing in Happy Valley. “I don’t think you need to be consumed by it, but also, we’re not going to act like we’re not going into something that is going to be a little bit different or that is going to provide some challenges and it’s going to be awesome.”
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