Matt Campbell meets Lincoln Riley as USC visits Penn State under pressure

What Happened

When USC visits Penn State on Saturday, Oct. 10, Lincoln Riley will face Matt Campbell — the coach once viewed as a leading candidate for USC’s 2021 vacancy — in a Big Ten game that revisits the search that sent Riley to Los Angeles and Campbell to Happy Valley. The timing of Thanksgiving weekend in 2021 helped shape USC’s decision. Campbell’s Iowa State team played TCU on Friday, allowing him to interview before coaches whose regular seasons ended Saturday. Riley’s Oklahoma team played Oklahoma State on Saturday; a win would have sent the Sooners to the Big 12 championship game and prevented Riley from interviewing for other jobs. Oklahoma lost, allowing USC representatives to communicate directly with Riley afterward. Josh Pate’s preseason bracket placed Penn State at No. 7, making the visit a direct test of that pick against a USC team that has won five of its six games. Penn State lost 24-20 to Wisconsin on Sept. 26 and 34-13 at Northwestern on Oct. 2. USC followed its 41-27 loss to Oregon on Sept. 26 with a 25-21 victory over Washington on Oct. 3. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET. Campbell and Riley coached against each other in the Big 12; now Campbell gets Riley’s USC at Penn State, with the job decision that separated their paths back in view.

THE PATE STATE READ

(Josh has not yet commented.)