USC And Penn State Coaching History Could Fuel Big Ten Rivalry
Although the USC Trojans and Penn State Nittany Lions may not be traditional rivals, they have delivered some classic performances for college football fans like the 2009 and 2017 Rose Bowl. Now that the Trojans have joined the Big Ten, the two storied programs may have a chance of igniting a modern feud.
On top of regularly scheduled games, USC's head coach vacancy from 2021 could play a pivotal role in the 2026 showdown.
Lincoln Riley and Matt Campbell's Connection to USC Coaching Role
In 2021, USC fired Clay Helton after 12 years of service. Before the shock hire of Lincoln Riley, USC cast a fairly wide net for big-names and up-and-coming candidates. Within the Pac-12, candidates such as Mario Cristobal (Oregon) and Kyle Whittingham (Utah) came up. Dave Aranda (Baylor), P.J. Fleck (Minnesota) and Sonny Dykes (SMU) were also floated as potential names.
There were longshot candidates like James Franklin, Bill O'Brien, who was Alabama's offensive coordinator at the time, and Urban Meyer, but the name that was picking up the most traction was Matt Campbell.
In 2016, Campbell and the Iowa State Cyclones went 3-9 in his first season as their head coach. Campbell went on to turn the program around, winning four-straight bowl games – including a huge Fiesta Bowl win over Oregon – led the Cyclones to their first Big 12 Championship appearance and had a record of 42-34 by 2021.
Ultimately the USC job went to Riley and Campbell stayed at ISU til the end of the 2025 season. He finished his tenure at ISU with a record of 72-55 and a 5-3 bowl game record, making him the winningest coach in program history, 14 wins over ranked opponents and won the Big 12 Coach of the Year three times.
Campbell will now take the reins at Penn State and is bringing 24 former ISU players – the largest number of players from the same program that are following their head coach this season. Taylor Mouser, a longtime assistant to Campbell, will be joining him as the offensive coordinator. On the defensive side of the ball, a familiar face to USC will be in charge.
D'Anton Lynn will serve as Campbell's defensive coordinator. Lynn, who played cornerback at Penn State from 2008-2011, was previously the DC for the Trojans for the 2024 and 2025 season. Under Lynn, the Trojan defense was able to rebuild and become a respectable unit in the Big Ten – No. 65 nationally in 2024 and top-50 in 2025.
Riley-Campbell and USC-Penn State History
When both coaches were in the Big 12, they faced off five times as head coaches with Riley leading 3-2. Campbell's biggest win over Riley was during the 2017 regular season when ISU upset Oklahoma 38-31. For Riley, beating ISU 27-21 in the 2020 Big 12 Championship game after losing to them during the regular season.
USC currently holds a 6-5 lead over Penn State. The Nittany Lions snapped the Trojans' three-game win streak (2000, 2008, 2016) in the 2024 when they upset the Trojans 33-30 in an overtime thriller.
Their second game as Big Ten opponents will take place on Oct. 10.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/usc as USC And Penn State Coaching History Could Fuel Big Ten Rivalry.
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This story was originally published May 21, 2026 at 8:01 AM.