Lincoln Riley doesn’t need a scouting report on Matt Campbell. He’s lived it.
As USC heads into a road matchup with Penn State, Riley’s history with the new Nittany Lions coach is already shaping the conversation. The Trojans, now 5-1 after beating Washington, are about to walk into their first White Out at Beaver Stadium, and Riley has seen enough of Campbell over the years to know what kind of challenge is waiting.
The two coaches crossed paths six times during Riley’s run at Oklahoma from 2017-2021, when Campbell was at Iowa State. Riley went 4-2 in those games, but the scores rarely came easy. Three of Iowa State’s losses in that stretch were by one possession, which is exactly the kind of detail that tells you Campbell’s teams were never just showing up.
On Monday’s Trojans Live, Riley laid out what he sees when he studies Penn State now.
"Matt Campbell's a heck of a coach. We coached each other a ton in the Big 12 when he was at Iowa State.
And I have immense respect for him. You go turn on the film and they have an experienced quarterback [Rocco Becht], heck of a player.
They do a lot of challenging things with their groupings."
He also pointed to a familiar theme in Campbell’s offenses.
"Going back to Iowa State, they've always used their tight ends really well and they're doing so here [Penn State]. Defensively they look a lot like the past Penn State teams in being big up front.
They've got really good athletes and talented players and they're excellent on the back end. It's a well coached football team and it'll be a heck of a night."
Penn State is coming in on a two-game losing streak after defeats to Wisconsin and Northwestern, but the Nittany Lions still have enough pieces to make this a dangerous night in Happy Valley. Rocco Becht has completed 61.9 percent of his passes and thrown for 10 touchdowns and three touchdowns. The run game is being driven by James Peoples and Carson Hansen, while wide receiver Koby Howard leads the team in receiving even though he missed the Wisconsin and Northwestern games with an injury.
Howard’s status is one to watch against USC. Penn State has other options, too, including tight end Benjamin Brahmer, who is third on the team with 16 catches for 178 yards and three touchdowns. Fellow tight end Andrew Rappleyea adds another layer to that part of the offense.
On defense, linebacker Tony Rojas is the top tackler with 21 solo stops and three sacks. In the secondary, Marcus Neal Jr., Jeremiah Cooper and Jamison Patton are central figures for D’Anton Lynn, the current Penn State defensive coordinator and former USC coach.
The betting line from FanDuel Sportsbook has Penn State favored by 1.5 points, a number that reflects USC’s road issues under Riley. The game kicks off at 4:30 p.m. PT on NBC, and it will be USC’s third straight game in prime time.
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