STATE COLLEGE — No. 19 USC football was neck-deep in a game that had the power to define its season; one that could potentially decide its fate in the College Football Playoff. The Trojans led Penn State by just one point at the start of the fourth quarter.

The Trojans’ passing game went toe-to-toe with the conference’s best passing defense and stacked up three touchdowns to win 31-23 in front of a record-breaking, White Out game crowd of 114,419 fans.

“One of my favorite wins as a head coach, no question,” head coach Lincoln Riley told reporters. “For so many reasons … Nobody in the world gave a chance to come in and win those games, and we did it. We did it our way.”

Jayden Maiava’s fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Kayden Dixon-Wyatt gave USC the separation it needed to win the game.

“Just a great week of preparation,” Maiava said. “Kayden trusted and stayed in it, and I told him, just be ready for it when it comes.”

USC’s only loss this season has come to Oregon, and Saturday’s win keeps the Trojans (6-1 overall, 3-1 Big Ten) in the hunt for its first-ever CFP appearance.

Maiava finished the game 21-of-33 for 301 yards and three touchdowns with no interceptions. Running back King Miller rushed for 102 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries.

Star freshman receiver Trent Mosley (9 receptions, 111 yards) made an immediate impact in his return after missing the last three games due to a knee injury. He scored the first touchdown of the game when Maiava flicked a 19-yard pass over the middle of the field to his outstretched body in the end zone.

“That was just a game-time decision, but yeah, I’ve been prepping for a while to get my body right and get back,” Mosley said. “Mentally, they’re a bunch of fans, but they don’t really do nothing against you except make noise.”

Penn State equaled the score on the following drive.

Quarterback Rocco Becht, who threw for a season-high 289 yards while going 21-of-32, sent a 47-yard pass to Chase Sowell on the second play of the drive to gain early momentum. It was a tight end, however, who hauled in the touchdown.

Andrew Rappleyea broke to his left for a clear shot at the end zone, and Becht hit him with a 13-yard touchdown pass.

Penn State’s tight ends combined for 92 yards in the game.

The Trojans’ offense ground away against the best passing defense in the Big Ten and scored again through the air at the start of the second quarter.

Tanook Hines showed elite body control when he caught a pass at the 1-yard line and reached his arm out to get the ball over the goal line while Nittany Lions cornerback Joseph Jahmir was wrapping up his legs.

“We tried to be balanced tonight, and we knew we were going to have to do both (run and pass) at times,” Riley said. “And I give our guys credit. Good execution on all sides gives a play caller confidence to call anything at any moment. And these guys definitely gave me that confidence tonight.”

Penn State responded quickly again.

The Nittany Lions continued to gain yardage on chunk plays with a 37-yard pass to Sowell, then switched to its run game. James Peoples rattled off back-to-back 8-yard rushes before Carson Hansen rushed toward the end zone from three yards out, falling into scoring territory with the ball in the crook of his arm.

USC kicker Ryon Sayeri’s 56-yard field goal attempt went wide right of the goalpost on the next drive, but Caden Chittenden found success on a 37-yard field goal with 2:11 remaining until halftime and brought the score to 17-14 in USC’s favor.

Penn State used a pair of field goals to get the advantage back. Ryan Barker had successful strikes from 48 and 35 yards out for a 20-17 lead. The Nittany Lions had recovered an onside kick to start the second half, setting up a scoring drive.

King Miller added a 13-yard rushing touchdown to give USC a 24-20 advantage, and the Trojans had the chance to make a fourth-down defensive statement when Penn State was faced with a fourth-and-short situation late in the third quarter.

Both teams surged forward with enough force to bring out the chain gang, and it was ultimately ruled that the Nittany Lions secured a fresh set of downs.

Penn State continued a grueling drive that took 14 plays to go an eventual 68 yards. The Nittany Lions were held to a few short gains after the critical fourth down and settled for another Ryan Barker field goal, this one from 21 yards out, to make it a 1-point game.

Kayden Dixon-Wyatt only had one catch in the game when Maiava looked to him, needing a spark.

The freshman burst into a sprint on a corner route left into the end zone, where he beat his defender to make the catch with 11:11 on the clock for a 31-23 lead.

“I knew my time was coming,” Dixon-Wyatt said. “I just had to be patient. I just made a good play when the team needed it most.”

USC came up with two pivotal defensive plays to lock up the win.

Luke Wafle sacked Becht on third down, forcing Penn State to punt with 6:02 left in the game; then the Trojans’ defense forced a turnover on the Nittany Lions’ following drive.

Brett Eskildsen originally caught a pass from Becht, but Christian Pierce was lurking close by and wrapped him up aggressively enough to pop the ball loose. The ball fell at Chasen Johnson’s feet, and the cornerback scooped up the ball.

“That’s nothing but me just trusting the coaches’ scheme and my teammates,” Johnson said. “Luckily CP banged out that ball, and I just saw the ball and I just jumped on it. I knew that was a play that I just had to get down on the ground for my team.”

USC enters the bye week on a two-game win streak and will return to the field on Oct. 24 at Wisconsin