USC’s 2026 schedule has plenty of heavyweight matchups, but Joel Klatt thinks one game in particular could end up steering the Trojans’ season.
On The Joel Klatt Show, Klatt pointed to USC’s trip to Penn State as the key piece of a three-game stretch that could decide how the year unfolds. He framed it as the final game in a run that starts with Oregon and Washington at home before USC heads across the country.
“This is the last of a three-game critical stretch for USC. They are gonna play Oregon and Washington, both of those games are at home.
Then they’ve gotta travel across country and go to Beaver Stadium, and they face Matt Campbell and his Nittany Lions. So the question then is can USC somehow, in that stretch of three, go 2-1?
If you go 2-1, you set up, I think, the season for matchups late in the year against Ohio State and Indiana, where you’ve got a playoff berth on the line," said Klatt on The Joel Klatt Show.
He added, "I think Lincoln is very confident about his team, I am bullish on USC. I think they're better at the line of scrimmage. Whoever wins that game is going to set themselves up for a real shot down the stretch,” Klatt continued.
The Penn State matchup stands out because it will be USC’s first major road test of the season. Under Lincoln Riley, the Trojans have been strong at home, but their road results have not always matched that level.
That makes this game more than just another Big Ten date. If USC can handle the East Coast trip and beat what should be a solid Penn State team, it would be a meaningful sign that the Trojans are moving in the right direction in the conference.
There’s also a bigger picture here. In the 12-team College Football Playoff format, 10-2 has typically been enough to put teams in a strong position, and USC’s path to that mark runs through a difficult slate. To reach it, the Trojans would likely need to go 2-1 against Oregon, Washington and Penn State, then split their games against Ohio State at home and Indiana on the road.
Jayden Maiava sits at the center of all of it. USC will be facing some of the country’s top quarterbacks, and his play will matter every week. Last season, Maiava posted a 91.2 QBR, which led the country.
That level of efficiency is part of why USC’s outlook is so intriguing. If Maiava keeps developing both as a passer and as a runner, the Trojans have a better chance of matching up with the elite quarterbacks on their schedule.
Those quarterbacks include Oregon’s Dante Moore, Washington’s Demond Williams, Penn State’s Rocco Becht, Ohio State’s Julian Sayin, and Indiana’s Josh Hoover.
The schedule is a brutal one, but it also gives Riley and USC a chance to show they can do more than just hang around in the Big Ten. If they can take care of business in these big games, the Trojans could put themselves in position to chase the conference title and make a serious run at the College Football Playoff.
In Other News...
Penn State Is In An Early Fight Fans Can't Ignore Up Front
Penn State has spent part of its summer trying to stay in the middle of the conversation for four-star offensive tackle Eytan D'oleo, a priority lineman who has already made unofficial visits and camp stops at several Big Ten programs. The recruitment has the feel of an early tug-of-war, with Rutgers and Ohio State also getting chances to impress while D'oleo continues to sort through a growing list of options.
What makes this one worth watching for the Nittany Lions is how crowded the board already is, with D'oleo up to 22 offers and no sign the race is narrowing anytime soon. Penn State has done enough to keep itself in the mix, but as with most offensive line battles this early in the cycle, the real test will be whether that interest holds once the visits stack up and the decision gets closer. [Read more 🡒]
Tony Rojas Just Changed The Outlook For Penn State's Defense
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Now the focus shifts to what comes next for a redshirt junior who is projected to matter in a major way once the season gets going. Rojas has the kind of return that can stabilize a linebacker group and raise the ceiling of the entire defense, and his comeback also carries bigger stakes beyond this fall, with his play this season shaping how he is viewed heading toward the 2027 NFL Draft. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State Pitt Belongs In A Tradition College Football Lost
College football used to live on annual grudges, and Penn State-Pittsburgh was one of the ones that gave the sport its edge. It is the kind of regional matchup that once felt inevitable, with schools close enough to matter and familiar enough to create the sort of Saturday tension that made the calendar itself part of the rivalry. But as conference realignment and scheduling pressures reshaped the sport, games like this have become harder to protect, even when the interest from fans never really went away.
Penn State and Pitt have not met since 2019, and the obstacle now is less about desire than about the crowded realities of modern scheduling. The Big Ten and ACC both play nine conference games, and Pitt already has West Virginia lined up through 2030, which leaves little breathing room for a regular series with the Nittany Lions. The broader worry is what gets lost when matchups like this slip from tradition into occasional event, because once a rivalry stops feeling routine, reviving it becomes a lot harder than it should be. [Read more 🡒]