USC football will look in the mirror when it faces Penn State in the 2026 Big Ten football season. Matt Campbell was rumored to be the Trojans‘ next head coach for a period of 24 to 36 hours just before the Lincoln Riley hire was announced in late November of 2021. D’Anton Lynn coached two seasons at USC. The Trojans will be facing parts of their recent history when they play Penn State. ESPN has more:
“Last year’s midseason firing of James Franklin rocked college football, and after a drawn-out search, Penn State brought in Matt Campbell from Iowa State. Campbell, the winningest coach in ISU history, brought over several top assistants and staff members from Ames, including offensive coordinator Taylor Mouser and O-line coach Ryan Clanton. He also retained Terry Smith, who led PSU to a bowl championship last fall, as associate head coach/cornerbacks coach, and made a splashy outside hire in defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn, the former Nittany Lions defensive back who oversaw USC’s defense the past two years after stops with UCLA and four NFL teams.”
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There is an alternate universe — one which never materialized — in which Matt Campbell succeeds Clay Helton as USC head coach, and in which D’Anton Lynn never comes to USC. Lynn wouldn’t have come to Los Angeles if Campbell was head coach. Campbell and Jon Heacock established a very strong professional relationship at Iowa State which likely would have continued at USC if Campbell had been hired by the Trojans in 2021.
The value of the Penn State game for USC is primarily about the Big Ten race and, most of all, the College Football Playoff. However, the presence of Matt Campbell and D’Anton Lynn on the other sideline will make the moment even more pressure-packed for Lincoln Riley and the Trojans.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC football faces Matt Campbell and D’Anton Lynn in Penn State test
