USC has an opening at head coach after firing Clay Helton on Sept. 13. It appears a candidate from the B1G has emerged.

There’s mutual interest between Penn State coach James Franklin and USC, according to NBC’s Dan Patrick:

Franklin has coached at Penn State since 2014. In his tenure at Penn State, Franklin has amassed a 62-28 record and captured the B1G title in 2016.

No. 10 Penn State hosts No. 22 Auburn in Week 3.

Penn State is coming off a convincing 44-13 victory vs. visiting Ball State to improve to 2-0. The Penn State defense held Ball State to 295 total yards, forced two turnovers, and blanked them in the first and third quarters.

The all-time series between Penn State and Auburn is tied at 1. The last meeting was a 13-9 Auburn victory in 2003 at the Capital One Bowl.

Penn State-Auburn is slated for Sept. 18 (7:30 p.m. EST) and will be televised on ABC.