Penn State has bitter memories of this time last season.

"All we have to think about is 19-14 last year," inside linebacker Mark D'Onofrio said. "That gets me fired up."

The score D'Onofrio was talking about was the result of a Lion loss at USC last season. That defeat dropped the Lions to 0-2 and dashed all hopes of a national championship.

The Lions will return to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum tommorrow in the hopes of exacting some revenge against the Trojans.

"Myself personally, I have a tough time swallowing that (game). They had some great drives last year -- 90 yards, 70 yards. That's not going to happen again." D'Onofrio said.

In that game last season, celebrated quarterback Todd Marinovich led his Trojans to scores on 78 and 92-yard drives. The longer of the two came in the middle of a pivotal third quarter as USC took a 19-7 lead and took the spirit out of Penn State.

In the fourth quarter of that game, the Lions were stymied on a fourth down at the 1-yard line and Tony Sacca was intercepted on the final drive of the game.

Wide receiver Terry Smith said that the want of a national championship is another factor that will keep Penn State motivated.

"We have a goal this year and that's to win the 12 games and this is another stepping stone," Smith said.

However, Coach Joe Paterno is still wary of what is a very talented USC team.

"I think Southern Cal is going to be an outstanding football team," Paterno said. "They're a typical Southern Cal power football team. They'll run the sweep and the power play and they're running the option more."

Paterno is also worried because this game features two teams on opposite sides of the emotional spectrum. The Lions are coming off a lopsided 81-0 victory over a very young Cincinnati team while USC dropped out of the Top 25 with a 24-10 loss to unranked Memphis State.

The fear is that Penn State could be too upbeat while the Trojans are angry about their loss.

D'Onofrio said that the Lions can never be too sure of themselves. "We've got to realize that not every game is going to be like Cincinnati and this game is where it starts," he said.

Paterno agrees. "We better be ready for a very tense, very physical football game," Paterno said. "In both of our games, we've had everything go our way but we (fumbled) the ball nine times."

Paterno said that when he saw the USC-Memphis State game, he thought that the Trojans came out in the second half thinking they had the game won with a 10-3 lead. The Tigers had other ideas, though, as they scored three touchdowns in the second half.

"The very worst scenario that could have happened in that game happened to Southern Cal," Paterno said.

A lot of people thought that the Lions lost last year because they were too starry-eyed when they got to Los Angeles, but this year the players are making sure that doesn't happen this season.

"I think it's a much more comfortable team than last year. We want to get ready for the great schedule ahead of us and it starts with USC," D'Onofrio said.

Smith said the leadership of the seniors is what will keep the other players focused. "We just talk to the guys. This is a good USC team but we try to put them down that the're just human and we can beat them," he said.