Athlon picks Penn State-USC as one of Big Ten’s biggest games of 2026

As the 2026 college football season inches closer to its start, the week-by-week slate within the Big Ten took center stage at Athlon on Monday. And within that spotlight, Penn State’s schedule crystallized further. Picking out the best matchups involving Big Ten teams for every week of the season, including nonconference games, the outlet selected the Nittany Lions’ tilt with Southern Cal at Beaver Stadium as the marquee showdown for the weekend of Oct. 10. From the story: Week 6: USC at Penn State (Oct. 10) “Penn State has a favorable overall schedule for new coach Matt Campbell, but this showdown against USC is one of the biggest swing games on the ‘26 slate. How will the Trojans handle the travel out to the East Coast for this matchup after facing tough battles against Oregon and Washington in the previous two weeks?” Penn State’s lone appearance among Athlon’s weekly picks There are a few ways to digest Penn State’s inclusion in a piece that surveys 13 weeks of the college football season, including Week 0. That the Nittany Lions have just one game ranking at the top of the Big Ten’s slate serves as a reminder of perceptions. While Penn State has its own transition taking place ahead of the first season of Matt Campbell’s tenure with the program, the list of opponents is already being considered among the lightest not only in the conference, but also in the country. Ohio State (5), USC (5), Oregon (4), Michigan (4), and Indiana (3) are all at the top of the conference for the number of times they were selected as participants in the best game of the week. The other teams with at least one pick alongside Penn State are Washington, who has two matchups, and Maryland, who joins the Nittany Lions with one. A pivotal stretch for both Penn State and USC On top of Penn State’s comparatively light schedule, missing each of Ohio State, Oregon, and Indiana, the placement of the program’s lone selection is also important. Unencumbered by any power conference opponents on the nonconference slate, the Nittany Lions open Big Ten play by hosting Wisconsin, then traveling to Northwestern for a Friday night date to open the new Ryan Field. In what sets up as a potential 5-0 start for Penn State, the game against the Trojans follows a run of massive importance for USC. As the only Big Ten team with an Aug. 29 game, the Trojans stand alone as the de facto pick that week. But in the weeks leading up to their trip to Beaver Stadium, USC is also the “best game” in Week 4 when Oregon travels to Los Angeles and Week 5 when Washington also visits the Coliseum. Those two pivotal games for the Trojans create any number of implications for the matchup at Beaver Stadium. Will USC win both lead-in games? Split? Lose both? For a Lincoln Riley-coached USC program already facing questions about his leadership ahead of the 2026 season, the moment stands as critical for the Trojans. The same, of course, can be said for Campbell and his Nittany Lions. Should Penn State come away with a win to improve to a potential 6-0, it will get a Michigan team next that also was not the top pick in the conference in any of the prior six weeks of the season. Talk about it with our premium members in the Lions Den message board, here.