Lincoln Riley and D’Anton Lynn know each other well enough to recognize the little things that matter on a football field. They spent two seasons together at USC, working side by side on a defense that badly needed fixing. On Saturday night at Beaver Stadium, they’ll be on opposite sidelines, with more than 100,000 fans around them and Penn State’s White Out turning their reunion into something much louder than a casual catch-up.
The pairing has a clear backstory. Riley brought Lynn in after the 2023 season because USC needed defensive credibility, plain and simple.
Under former coordinator Alex Grinch, the Trojans had been giving up 34.4 points and about 432 yards per game in 2023, and the breakdowns went beyond the numbers. Tackling, communication and explosive plays all haunted the unit, even with Caleb Williams leading the offense as the 2022 Heisman Trophy winner and eventual No.
1 NFL Draft pick.
Lynn’s arrival changed the tone quickly. In his first year coordinating the defense in 2024, USC cut its scoring defense to 24 points per game and trimmed its yardage allowed to roughly 377 per contest. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a real step forward, and it was the kind of step Riley needed.
Riley still speaks highly of his former assistant.
“D’Anton is a really good coach,” Riley said. “I think he’s always done a really good job with the secondary.”
He also pointed to Penn State’s defensive backs and the way Lynn mixes things up.
“He’s always been very multiple,” Riley said. “So they’re doing a good job.”
That familiarity cuts both ways. Riley knows the way Lynn likes to disguise coverage and adjust personnel.
Lynn has spent two seasons watching how Riley builds an offense and attacks weak spots. The respect is obvious, but so is the danger of thinking that knowledge alone will solve anything.
Lynn laid out the challenge in his own blunt way.
“He’s tough because he doesn’t really have a playbook,” Lynn said. “He just has plays, and he’s going to do what his guys do best.”
That’s what makes this matchup so tricky for Penn State. USC comes in averaging 37.3 points and 467.8 yards per game, with 311.7 passing yards a night. Jayden Maiava has thrown for 1,744 yards and 15 touchdowns through six games.
Penn State, for its part, has been elite against the pass, leading the Big Ten by allowing just 119.6 passing yards per game. But that strength took a hit last Friday, when Northwestern ran for 413 yards in a 34-13 win and exposed issues with tackling and gap integrity. Lynn didn’t sugarcoat it.
“I don’t know if we won the line of scrimmage once,” Lynn admitted.
He also said the staff cut back on tackling work during the shortened prep week, and he took responsibility for that choice.
The setting adds another wrinkle. Lynn was on USC’s sideline last season when Penn State erased a 20-6 halftime deficit and beat the Trojans 33-30 in overtime.
This time, the circumstances look different. USC is 5-1 after a 25-21 comeback win over Washington.
Penn State is 3-2 and trying to recover after back-to-back conference losses.
So the reunion carries plenty of history, but Saturday night belongs to the present. Riley is trying to build on his team’s latest comeback.
Lynn is trying to steady a defense that needs it. They’ve shared meetings, adjustments, losses and the work of rebuilding something together.
Now they’ll spend a few hours trying to beat each other under the brightest lights in Happy Valley.
In Other News...
Penn State White Out Just Got Bigger Than Anyone Wanted
Penn State is heading into Saturday nights White Out with a lot more on the line than usual, and not just because No. 19 USC is coming to Beaver Stadium for a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff. The Nittany Lions have spent the past couple weeks trying to steady themselves after losses to Wisconsin and Northwestern, results that have put a spotlight on a season that was supposed to feel more settled by now.
USC arrives with the kind of profile that can make an already charged environment feel even heavier. Lincoln Rileys team is 5-1 and has flashed the offensive punch that has become its calling card, even if the defense has left room for concern. For Penn State, the White Out is no longer just about pageantry and atmosphere. Its a chance to halt the slide before the questions around Matt Campbells tenure grow any louder. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State Still Needs More From One Key Pass Rusher
Penn States defense came out of the Northwestern game with a few reminders of how thin the margin can be up front. The run defense gave up more ground than usual, the sack count stayed low, and the overall pressure package never quite found a steady rhythm. For a unit that has leaned on disruption to set the tone, it was the kind of afternoon that left the staff looking for a little more from the edge.
Yvan Kemajou has been part of that conversation because the flashes are there, but defensive coordinator DAnton Lynn made it clear the next step is consistency. Penn State likes the playmaking potential Kemajou brings, and the coaches know there is still room for the defense to tighten up as the season moves on. The upside remains obvious, but the Lions are still waiting for that pass-rushing spark to show up snap after snap. [Read more 🡒]
Penn State Looks Alarmingly Short On Answers Against USC
Penn States trip into the USC matchup has turned into one of those late-season reminders that every phase of the game matters, because the gap between the two teams has not been hard to spot. USC has looked cleaner and more productive on offense, and its special teams have also given it an edge, while Penn State has been left trying to piece together answers on a defense that has not held up the way it needed to.
The comparison also puts the Nittany Lions in an awkward spot with their own identity, because the only area where they have clearly separated themselves is on defense, and even that has come with plenty of concern. With the offense and special teams lagging behind and the coaching questions lingering in the background, Penn State is still searching for a performance that feels more complete than what it has shown against USC. [Read more 🡒]