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It might not be the most anticipated White Out in the history of the annual event, but it will still likely be an outstanding crowd later tonight.
Here are five keys to a much-needed victory for Penn State over USC:
1. Use the advantage: It shouldn't matter if West Shore Home Field at Beaver Stadium sells out or not tonight. It will still be the loudest crowd this season for the Lions and one of the noisiest in the country.
Yes, the Trojans are probably accustomed to playing in loud environments on the road. But the Penn State White Out is routinely talked about as one of the toughest stadiums in the Big Ten to play.
By the way, if you're still looking to go to the game, tickets for tonight were down to $59 as of Thursday afternoon on Penn State's website.
2. Forget about last week: There wasn't a whole lot to be positive about last Friday night at Northwestern. The defense was battered for 413 rushing yards, and the offense didn't do a lot to give much faith to the fan base. The players likely flushed it by Saturday morning.
USC is a team that is a little bit of a mess right now, too. The Trojans are ranked 19th by the Associated Press but haven't been dominant. It also seems like they may fire head coach Lincoln Riley at the next sign of trouble.
3. Get the run game going: This wasn't copied and pasted from previous keys, but you're probably thinking it sounds like a broken record.
No matter which running back the Lions have thrown out there, they haven't done much to pull away from the field. You can take your pick which one you like the best between Carson Hansen, James Peoples, Quinton Martin Jr., and Cam Wallace, but the offensive line hasn't done enough to help the quartet succeed.
4. Big night for pass defense: USC wide receiver Tahnook Hines said there wasn't a lot about PSU's secondary that stood out to him.
Whether it's a fair assessment or not, the Trojan receivers are banged up going into State College. Three USC wideouts are either out or questionable for tonight.
When PSU true freshman cornerback Josiah Zayas had a Pick-6 vs. Wisconsin, it was the biggest moment for the defense so far this season. Penn State could use another similar moment against the Trojans.
5. Special teams are special: Mississippi State transfer punter Nathan Tiyce has been a nice find out of the transfer portal. Out of 23 punts, eight of them have been inside the 20-yard line. Zay Robinson has also stood out as a returner.
Kicker Ryan Barker had only missed four field goals in his first two seasons as the Lions' starter, but he's already missed twice this year, including a 45-yarder last week.
In games such as a White Out, special teams can turn out to be very important. Just look back at the 2016 Ohio State game when the Lions' returned a blocked field goal for the game-winning touchdown.