Penn State vs. USC injury report: List of players injured ahead of Week 7 showdown
The No. 4-ranked Penn State Nittany Lions are heading across the country to take on the USC Trojans at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Big Ten action. Saturday's game is expected to be close as the Nittany Lions are favored by just 3.5 points, so this should be an exciting contest.
Let's take a look at the injuries for both teams and discuss who will be sidelined for this matchup.
Penn State vs. USC injury report
Penn State injury report
The Penn State Nittany Lions have been a bit banged up this season, but they are dealing with a lot of undisclosed injuries that have players listed as questionable for this game. Below are a few that are expected to play in this Week 7 clash.
Anthony Donkoh, OT
After leaving last week's game in the first quarter with what appeared to be a shoulder injury, coach James Franklin said that he anticipated Donkoh to be available for this week's game against the Trojans.
Nick Singleton, RB
Running back Nick Singleton suffered a leg injury against the Illinois Fighting Illini two weeks ago and was forced to miss last week's game against UCLA due to the injury. On Monday, coach James Franklin said he was confident that Singleton would return to the field for this week's game.
Quarterback Drew Allar also spoke about having Singleton back on the field after a one-game absence.
"We're looking forward to having Nick back out there," Allar said. "Hopefully, he's all good and that he just brings that explosiveness that he's shown in the first four or five games this year."
Singleton has been the program's leading running back this season, as the junior has 53 rushing attempts for 408 yards (7.7 yards per carry) with three touchdowns. He has also been involved in the passing game with six catches for 74 yards (12.3 yards per reception) and a pair of receiving touchdowns. With a nose for the end zone, this is a special player to have on the field.
USC injury report
The USC Trojans are one of the healthy programs in college football, as there are only two players on the injury report right now.
Walter Matthews, USC
The USC Trojans are expecting to be without freshman tight end Walter Matthews for this game as he continues to recover from his undisclosed injury. There have not been many updates regarding his status, so do not expect him to make his first action in this game. Instead, expect coach Lincoln Riley to continue having Lake McRee as the top tight end in the program right now.
Jacobe Covington, CB
Redshirt senior Jacobe Covington is listed as questionable for today's matchup as he is dealing with an undisclosed injury. Lincoln Riley discussed how he is unsure if Covington will be ready for this game but is trending in the right direction coming out of last week.
"He's been limited this week. Progressed a little bit faster than maybe we would have thought after the game. After the Minnesota game, I think we would have guessed it was a for sure no for this week. So kudos to him and the training staff for pushing it along."
Covington has been a starting cornerback for the program this season, as he has 17 total tackles and a pair of pass deflections. However, his leadership has shown up and allows the rest of the secondary to step up as they do not have to worry about him knowing where to be.