Here’s a look at Penn State’s 5 most important games in Matt Campbell’s first season
Penn State is slowly but surely working its way toward its Sept. 5 season opener against the Marshall Thundering Herd in Beaver Stadium. We’ve looked at the most important players on offense and defense, along with potential breakout candidates for the Nittany Lions and five freshmen worth monitoring from the 2026 class.
Let’s close things out by looking at the five biggest games for Penn State in the 2026 season, Matt Campbell’s first as the team’s head coach.
1. Oct. 10 vs. USC
There are two options for the top choice here, but the nod goes to a game that could feature White Out conditions. The Trojans traveling to State College will be the most anticipated matchup in Beaver Stadium this season, and it will also be the more winnable of the two games under consideration here because it’s at home for Penn State. USC will be led by potential Heisman Trophy candidate Jayden Maiava and head coach Lincoln Riley, one of the best offensive play-callers in the country. That will be a great test for Penn State defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn (who joined Penn State from USC this offseason) and should establish just how good the Nittany Lions can be on that side of the ball. Of course, it will also dictate how likely it is for them to make the College Football Playoff, too. While it’s not a must-win, a win would go a long way in helping this team reach its ceiling.
2. Oct. 17 at Michigan
This is the other option for the top spot, but there will be less external expectation of a victory in this game than the matchup with USC, which pushes it to the second slot. If you were to pick one game for Penn State to lose going into the season, it would be this one. The Nittany Lions will be heading on the road after the biggest home game of the season and will be dealing with whatever expectations come from that game. Fortunately for them, Michigan is undergoing just as much roster turnover with new head coach Kyle Whittingham. Penn State will have a chance to go into The Big House and pull off what would likely be an upset win over the Wolverines.
3. Nov. 7 at Washington
Penn State’s going to know where it stands by this point in the year, and if it’s in playoff contention this will likely be the last major roadblock on the Nittany Lions’ way to the postseason. And it’s a pretty big one. Washington brings back a good amount of talent, led by quarterback Demond Williams Jr., who is a true dual threat and can cause issues for even the best defenses. Tack on the fact that PSU will have to travel across the country to take on the Huskies, and you have an opportunity for the program to take a loss. Not to mention if things don’t go well against USC and Michigan or if the Nittany Lions come in with two losses to anyone, a loss to Washington would likely eliminate them from the CFP.
4. Sept. 26 vs. Wisconsin
Penn State’s homecoming game is also going to be the first Big Ten game of Campbell’s tenure, and will come against a good but beatable Wisconsin team. The Badgers added Colton Joseph from Old Dominion to play quarterback and paired him with one of Campbell’s former Cyclones, Abu Sama III, at running back. Those two should help the Badgers get back to being a dominant team on the ground, although the identity of this team will be worth monitoring. Plenty of the roster turned over in the transfer portal, which means catching the Badgers early on in the season — and doing it at home — should help Penn State quite a bit in the matchup.
5. Oct. 2 at Northwestern
There’s a dropoff from four to five on this list, but the team’s early October matchup with Northwestern could be a trap game. The Wildcats will be opening the new Ryan Field in this game and will be doing so with a new offensive coordinator — Chip Kelly. Kelly has engineered some elite offenses in his career and while it’s been a while since he had a massive talent deficit at offensive coordinator in college football, he can still elevate this group quite a bit. Not to mention, the matchup will be on Friday night and sandwiched between homecoming and the matchup with USC. The Nittany Lions will likely be favored here, but this could be a sneaky close game that teaches everyone quite a bit about what to expect from Penn State both this season and during Campbell’s tenure.
