One Game for USC Trojans, Lincoln Riley to Change Big Ten Road Narrative
One Game for USC Trojans, Lincoln Riley to Change Big Ten Road Narrative
The USC Trojans face a pivotal road challenge when they make a cross-country trip to Penn State in early October.Kendell Hollowell|
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USC TrojansPenn State Nittany LionsUSC has had its struggles on the road under coach Lincoln Riley since joining the Big Ten in 2024.
In that inaugural season, the Trojans did not win a single road game outside the state of California. Last season, all three of their regular season losses came away from the Coliseum.
Trip to Happy Valley

USC has a big-time matchup against Indiana Hoosiers, the defending national champions in Bloomington on Nov. 14. However, a month before making that trip, the Trojans will make a cross-country trip to Happy Valley on Oct. 10 to face Penn State.
A game that figures to be a ranked matchup and the Nittany Lions annual “White Out” game, one of the most hostile environments in all of college football. Beaver Stadium has an official seating capacity of 106,572 people.
Michigan famously had to call a timeout on the first play of the game in 2019 to avoid a delay of game penalty because of how intense the crowd was when they took the field.
With a gauntlet of a schedule this fall, Southern Cal can’t afford to stumble in early October to Penn State. It would be a signature win for Nittany Lions coach Matt Campbell in year one and further push the narrative of Riley’s tenure at USC in the wrong direction.
Jayden Maiava’s Road Struggles

Quarterback Jayden Maiava’s three lowest completion percentages from a year ago came on the road in games against Nebraska, Notre Dame and Oregon.
Against the Cornhuskers, Maiava struggled mightily all night in a tough road environment. He went a mere 9 of 23 for 135 yards and one interception. Maiava was effective using his legs, carrying the ball 11 times for 62 yards and one touchdown, which kept them alive in the second half. He was picked off twice in games against the Irish and Ducks.
The next step in the Trojans becoming one of premier teams in the conference and ultimately reaching the College Football Playoff is winning tough games on the road. There’s no way around it. And that starts with Maiava. The hope is the USC signal-caller was able to learn from experiences last season and he grows from it.

Maiava will see a familiar face on the other sideline against Penn State in defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn, who left after two seasons to take the same role with the Nittany Lions, his alma mater, in December. Lynn knows the Maiava very well from the past couple of seasons and vice versa. Who wins that matchup will be a big factor in the final result.
But it doesn't all fall on the shoulders of Maiava. The defense gave up 28.8 points on the road last season. The hiring of College Football Hall of Fame electee Gary Patterson and new defensive assistants should lead to better results in that department. The run game also has to be much better away from the Coliseum.
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KENDELL HOLLOWELLKendell Hollowell, a Southern California native has been been covering collegiate athletics since 2020 via radio and digital journalism. His experience includes covering programs such as the USC Trojans, Vanderbilt Commodores and Alabama Crimson Tide. Kendell He also works in TV production for the NFL Network. Prior to working in sports journalism, Kendell was a collegiate athlete on the University of Wyoming and Adams State football team. He is committed to bringing in-depth insight and analysis for USC athletics.
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Dad Notices A Strange Shadow On Skylight — Then Saves An Entire Fluffy Family
Dad Notices A Strange Shadow On Skylight — Then Saves An Entire Fluffy Family
“We couldn’t believe it.”
By Ashley OrtizPublished on July 1, 2026 at 5:48 PMA somber hush fell across Charlene Jackson’s house on the morning of April 26, as her family quietly showered their 12-year-old dog, Caddie, with love. It was Caddie's final day with them, and they were all filled with grief over having to say goodbye to her the following morning.
The family was gathered around their beloved dog when Charlene’s husband suddenly entered the room, urging them to follow him into the office. He’d spotted a large, dark figure on the skylight and realized an adorable fluffy family had come to visit.
“He was working in his home office when he heard noise above him,” Charlene told The Dodo. “He looked up, and there they were! We couldn’t believe it.”

The Jacksons ran into the office and were shocked to find a mama cat curled up on the skylight with a handful of kittens, especially with the weather they’d recently had.
“It had been raining for a few days before, and it was chilly,” Charlene said. “The sun was finally out, so they must have been on the skylight to get warm.”

Without skipping a beat, the entire Jackson family rushed to help the mama cat and her babies. They initially carried a kennel, food and water onto the roof and planned to let the cats rest for a little while. But after watching one of the kittens stumble into a drainage opening, they rescued him and quickly decided to bring the feral family down to safer ground.
Thankfully, the little fluffy family didn’t put up much of a fight when being relocated.
“Mama was very friendly and allowed us to pick her up and pet her,” Charlene said. “The kittens were very frightened, but we managed to get them all, so we thought, and bring them down.”

The Jacksons made a small enclosure for the cats outside, where Mama cat could come and go as she pleased, while her kittens rested safely. But shortly after moving the little family into the enclosure, Charlene and her husband realized one tiny kitten had been left behind.
“We had Mama and 4 kittens but realized after watching the videos there were 5 kittens,” Charlene said. “We couldn’t find the 5th one anywhere. We thought it was lost for good.”
Sadly, the Jacksons didn’t find the missing kitten that night, but they promised to keep searching. The following morning, they said a heart-wrenching goodbye to their ailing dog, Caddie, then sought comfort in cuddles with their remaining senior pup, Lulu, and the little cat family.
“It felt like the kittens and mama were sent to us to help us heal,” Charlene said.
You can watch more of their rescue here:
Thankfully, less than 24 hours later, they found the missing kitten alive after surviving two days on her own in a roof gutter.
The Jacksons breathed a sigh of relief as they reunited her with the rest of the little family, convinced the cats' stressful rescue journey was finally over. But the next morning, the mama cat came racing toward Charlene and Lulu outside in a panic, proving it wasn't over just yet.

At first, Charlene thought the mama cat was hungry, so she set out a fresh bowl of food. But the mama cat ignored the food and kept scratching the Jacksons’ patio door.
“I thought it was strange, so I went out to see what she wanted,” Charlene said. “ I looked into the pen and found only 2 kitties. 3 had escaped.”

Charlene’s heart dropped. Panicked, she and her husband searched everywhere for the escaped kittens but couldn’t find them anywhere. And it seemed that the mama cat was just as desperate for their help.
“Every time we stopped or came inside to take a break, Mama scratched at the door,” Charlene said. “She was insisting we find them. She even led us up a pathway several times. It was very deliberate.”
The Jacksons followed the mama cat up the pathway, continuing to search for hours, but kept coming up empty-handed. They decided to follow Mama one last time, and she suddenly leaped from the path onto a covered pile of wood and stared at them.
“We were quiet and heard rustling,” Charlene said. “All 3 kitties were together and had fallen down to the bottom of the wood pile and were stuck. They were about 4 feet down.”

Charlene and her family took apart the wood pile until each kitten was out safely, eventually deciding to move everyone inside.

The kittens spent the next few weeks growing and playing inside the Jackson home, while Mama relaxed on one of her many new beds. Eventually, the kittens were old enough to be adopted, and two quickly found amazing homes.
At first, the Jacksons decided not to keep any of the cats, as they already had two senior dogs with deteriorating health conditions. But after losing Caddie the day after the cats’ rescue, and then their beloved Lulu a little over a month later, they realized they couldn’t part ways with the remaining cats. So, they adopted Mama and the last three kittens, whom they named Spicy, Stevie and Nicksy.

Now that Mama and her babies are officially part of the family, the Jacksons’ days couldn’t be brighter. Still healing from the heartbreak of losing their soul dogs, the Jacksons turn to the little cat family for comfort every day — and they can’t imagine life without them now.
“This family of kitties and mama have really helped us heal,” Charlene said.