No. 13 Penn State football has yet to play a Big Ten team this 2026 college football season, but some patterns around the conference are unveiling that could come in handy by the time the Nittany Lions meet some of their opponents.
No. 12 USC is the only team currently ranked above Penn State that the blue and white have scheduled. No. 18 Michigan and Washington were ranked above the Nittany Lions prior to the start of the season, but have floated to the back or out of the AP Top 25 Poll completely since then. That means the Trojans are, as of Week 4, the biggest test for head coach Matt Campbell and this new team at Penn State.
It's also the Nittany Lions' biggest game of the year after designating the Week 6 matchup to be their 2026 White Out game.
This contest can have a ton of implications as to what the postseason looks like for Penn State, so having this home field advantage with this kind of atmosphere is huge. What's also helping the Nittany Lions is USC's lack of success on the road.
USC's poor travel record vs. Big Ten teams is good news for Penn State football
It's not just a 2026 issue, either. The Trojans are 3-5 playing teams on the east side of the country since they joined the conference, per Josh Yourish.
In their most recent game at Rutgers, USC came out on top with a 42-35 victory, but allowing that many points against a team that lost to UMass and Boston College to start the season is something to be concerned about.
Also, the Scarlet Knights were the Trojans' first Big Ten opponent of the 2026 season. All three of their cupcake games were at home and they'll be at home the next two weeks as well.
USC doesn't have another opportunity to lock down travel before Penn State, and on top of it, the White Out environment will be extremely hostile and difficult to communicate through. If Lincoln Riley's team isn't prepared for this battle on the East Coast, he and his Trojans might be fighting a losing battle come the 7:30 p.m. kickoff on Saturday, Oct. 3.
Wisconsin will be interesting in seeing how the Nittany Lions hold up vs. Big Ten teams, regardless of how good or bad their opponents are on paper. Rutgers had a shootout with USC after an abysmal start to the season, so really anything's on the table in this conference. If Penn State plays well without any glaring problems vs. the Badgers, Riley and the Trojans will have their hands full come the White Out in Week 6.
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