Rece Davis sees Penn State as a real College Football Playoff threat in 2026, and the reason goes well beyond the talent on the roster. The ESPN College GameDay host likes the veteran makeup of the team, especially the way Matt Campbell knows and trusts players from Iowa State. But the bigger edge, Davis argues, is the schedule.
Penn State does not have to deal with Ohio State, Indiana or Oregon in Big Ten play. USC and Michigan stand out as the toughest matchups on the Nittany Lions’ conference slate, and that kind of break matters when the playoff conversation gets tight. Davis’s point is simple: Penn State may not be the better team than USC, but it has the cleaner path.
That contrast makes the USC-Penn State matchup loom even larger. A Penn State win would leave the Nittany Lions with a realistic route to 10-2.
A USC victory would keep the Trojans on track for 10-2 as well. Either way, the result could shape which team stays in the mix for what might be the Big Ten’s fourth College Football Playoff spot.
The problem for USC is obvious when you lay out the full schedule. The Trojans have to face all three of the conference’s projected top teams, while Penn State avoids them entirely.
That makes the trip to Happy Valley feel like the kind of game USC simply has to have. Without a win there, it gets much harder to picture the Trojans reaching the playoff.
In Other News...
USC Still Has One Big 2027 Recruiting Need To Solve
USCs 2027 class is already moving along at a healthy clip, with 14 verbal commitments and several positions edging toward the point of saturation. The staff has clearly done enough work early to feel good about the shape of the class overall, but there is still room for a few targeted additions, especially in the trenches where long-term roster building tends to matter most.
The line of scrimmage remains the area to watch as the Trojans keep sorting through who might fit best in the classs final stretch. Offensive line and defensive line both still have openings, and USC is expected to stay engaged with potential targets who could add needed depth and balance to the group before the cycle is done. [Read more 🡒]
USC Must Hold Off Heavyweights For One Of Its Top DB Targets
The race for Jalen Flowers is starting to feel like the kind USC recruiting staffers circle on the calendar months in advance. The four-star defensive back from California has 37 offers and is working through a busy 2028 cycle, with a long list of major programs in the mix, including Notre Dame, UCLA, Oregon, Texas, LSU, Ohio State, Washington and Texas A&M. USC got in early with an offer in June 2025, and even with coaching staff changes, the Trojans have stayed active in his recruitment.
Flowers has lined up a heavy fall slate of gameday visits, and two of them will take place at the Coliseum, giving USC multiple chances to make its case at home. By the end of those visits, he intends to cut his list down to 10 programs, which should clarify where the Trojans stand against the rest of the national contenders still pushing to land one of the states top defensive backs. [Read more 🡒]
Kentucky Still Has Time To Make A Push For Trey Wright
Three-star quarterback Trey Wright has put his recruiting process on the clock, and USC is still very much in the mix as he nears a decision. The Trojans offered Wright, who has also drawn interest from Oregon, Arizona, Kentucky and SMU, and Lincoln Rileys track record suggests the staff is being especially deliberate about where it puts its quarterback chips.
Wright is set to reveal his college commitment on Saturday, which gives the remaining contenders a little more time to make their case. For USC, the timing matters because Riley tends to be selective at the position, and Wright could end up being the programs quarterback add for the 2028 class if the Trojans land him. [Read more 🡒]