Two weeks ago, we wrote about how USC nearly hired Penn State head coach Matt Campbell back in 2021. But did you know that Campbell is not the only opposing coach that the Trojans will face this fall who was heavily mentioned in that search?

Another name who was constantly mentioned during that search was Luke Fickell, who at the time was the head coach at Cincinnati. Much of that speculation was due to the fact that USC athletic director Mike Bohn and chief of staff Brandon Sosna had come from Cincinnati, where Bohn had previously hired Fickell.

However, Fickell took the Bearcats to the College Football Playoff that season, effectively eliminating him from contention for the Trojans job. Of course, USC wound up hiring Lincoln Riley instead, making it a moot point.

A year later, Fickell was hired as the head coach at Wisconsin. Nearly four years in, however, Fickell’s tenure in Madison has been rather disappointing thus far. On Saturday night, he will look to change that by taking down the school that he was strongly linked to back in 2021.