Penn State has finally put a date and opponent on its annual White Out, and the choice fits the billing: USC will visit Beaver Stadium on Oct. 10.
The game will kick off at 7:30 p.m. and air on NBC. It’s the second theme-game announcement Penn State has made for this season, following the Stripe Out for the Sept. 5 opener against Marshall.
USC always looked like the obvious pick for the White Out. It’s the most eye-catching home game on the schedule, and both programs are expected to be in the mix for a College Football Playoff spot this season.
There’s also a built-in subplot on the Penn State sideline. Defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn will face his former team for the first time since leaving USC, where he spent two years running the defense before joining the Nittany Lions and head coach Matt Campbell in the offseason. During his time with the Trojans, Lynn helped the unit improve each year.
The White Out will come as Penn State’s third Big Ten game of the year. The first is Sept. 26 against Wisconsin in the homecoming game, followed by the Oct. 2 trip to Northwestern for the first game at the newly built Ryan Field.
And the timing makes the USC game even more important. It sits right in front of another heavyweight matchup the next week, when Penn State heads to Ann Arbor to face Michigan.
USC enters the season after going 9-4 under Lincoln Riley and brings back a loaded roster, including quarterback Jayden Maiava, who could be a Heisman Trophy candidate.
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