How to Watch USC Trojans, Rutgers Scarlet Knights: Preview, Prediction, Channel

The USC Trojans (3-4, 1-4 Big Ten) will host the Rutgers Scarlett Knights (4-3, 0-3) who are making the 2,800-mile trip to Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Friday, Oct. 25. It will be the first meeting between the two programs. USC looks to snap a 3-game losing skid.

Oct 12, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans quarterback Miller Moss (7) throws a pass in the first half against the Penn State Nittany Lions United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The USC Trojans (3-4, 1-4 Big Ten) will be in the college football national spotlight as one of three games on Friday, Oct. 25 when they host the Rutgers Scarlett Knights (4-3, 0-3). As part of the new normal in college football, Rutgers will make the 2,800-mile cross-country trip from New Jersey to Los Angeles. It will be the first ever meeting between the two programs. 

USC coach Lincoln Riley reiterated quarterback Miller Moss will remain the starter despite the Trojans three-game skid with losses to Minnesota, Penn State and Maryland.

“Of course, 100 percent,” Riley said after practice on Monday. 

Oct 12, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans quarterback Miller Moss (7) throws a pass in the first half against the Penn State Nittany Lions United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Moss has thrown a costly interception in all five of the Trojans Big Ten games. The question remains, if the Moss continues to struggle with turnovers or the offense struggles at any point, will Riley turn to redshirt sophomore Jayden Maiava. The UNLV transfer offers a different skillset than Moss, as more of a dynamic runner.

Riley is certainly no stranger to pulling his quarterback, he famously pulled starting quarterback Spencer Rattler in back-to-back years when he was at Oklahoma in the Red River Rivalry because of turnovers and to provide a spark for his offense. 

The Trojans talented group of sophomore receivers continues to make big plays. Ja’Kobi Lane made a highlight reel catch for his fifth touchdown catch of the season, which leads the team.

Makai Lemon has made tremendous strides since returning from injury in week 6. His rapport with Moss has improved greatly on a weekly basis. A week after setting a career-high in receptions against Penn State, the Los Alamitos native set new career-high in receptions (8) and receiving yards (89) last Saturday. Duce Robinson caught his fourth touchdown in five games when he used his 6-foot-6 frame to power his way into the end zone against Maryland. The former five-star recruit has been a mismatch for defenses in the red zone. 

Tight end Lake McRee returned to the lineup for the first time since Sep. 21 and hauled in four receptions for 35 yards. That’s more catches and receiving yards than Kade Eldridge and Walker Lyons accounted for in the three games McRee was out. 

There are holes in the Rutgers defense for the Trojans to exploit. UCLA quarterback Ethan Garbers had a career-day last week in a win over Scarlet Knights, completing 32 of 38 passes for 383 yards and four touchdowns, he also added another touchdown on the ground. The week before Rutgers was gashed by Wisconsin for 309 yards on the ground.

USC could lean heavily into Woody Marks and Quinten Joyner to take some of the pressure off Moss who threw at least 50 passes for the second time this season. For context, Caleb Williams never had 50 pass attempts in his two seasons as the starter for the Cardinal and Gold.

Defensively, the Trojans continue to show tremendous improvements, but just for a half. A week after surrounding 27 points in the second half and overtime to the Nittany Lions, they gave up 22 in the second half to the Terrapins.

"Need to be more consistent," Lynn said. "Need to make big time plays in big time moments. We've done them in games, just not in the moments that we need to.”

The strength of the Rutgers offense lies with running back Kyle Monangai — who is No. 2 in the Big Ten in rushing yards per game (120.7) and rushing touchdowns (10). Run defense has been an area of concern for USC in Big Ten play, but last week they held Maryland to just 56 yards on 2.3 yards per carry. However, the secondary was a exploited for a second straight week. Penn State quarterback Drew Allar picked apart Trojans backed for 391 passing yards and last Saturday Maryland quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. did the same, throwing for 373 yards.

Oct 19, 2024; Piscataway, New Jersey, USA; Rutgers Scarlet Knights running back Kyle Monangai (5) carries the ball against the UCLA Bruins during the second half at SHI Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images / Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis has struggled mightily in the Scarlet Knights three-game losing streak. He is completing 45-percent of his passes with one touchdown versus four interceptions. If USC can control the line of scrimmage, they can force Rutgers into obvious passing situations against a quarterback that has been mistake prone as of late.  

The focus of the Trojans will be on what this team does late in the game. They have held a fourth quarter lead in every game this season, including a 14-point in each of the last two but this program is sitting here with four losses and fighting for bowl eligibility. All eyes will be on how USC responds the rest of the season and that starts on Friday night.

“We’ve been in a lot of really close games, we’ve had opportunities to separate in several of these games and we haven’t, we need to get better at that,” Riley said. “We’ve had some unfortunate breaks we’ll call them in several of these, but we haven’t been good enough to overcome those.”

Prediction: USC doesn't cover the 13.5-point spread at home but defeats Rutgers, 27-20.

Kickoff at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is slated for 8:00 p.m. PT and will be televised on FOX.

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