USC vs. Rutgers
When: 8 p.m. Friday
Where: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
TV/radio: FOX (Ch. 11)/ESPN 710
Records: USC 3-4 (1-4 Big Ten); Rutgers 4-3 (1-3 Big Ten)
Line: USC by 13.5
Notable injuries
USC: OUT: DL Anthony Lucas (season-ending, leg); LB Eric Gentry (season-ending, concussions); QUESTIONABLE: S Kamari Ramsey (undisclosed), CB Jacobe Covington (undisclosed), CB Jaylin Smith (undisclosed)
Rutgers: OUT: TE Victor Konopka (undisclosed, season), TE Kenny Fletcher (undisclosed, season), RB Samuel Brown V (lower-body, season), LG Bryan Felter (knee, season); QUESTIONABLE: DL Aaron Lewis (undisclosed), DL Wesley Bailey (undisclosed)
What’s at stake? For USC, it’s sheer pride, as safety Bryson Shaw so eloquently pointed out after the Trojans’ third consecutive backbreaking loss Saturday, a 29-28 defeat at Maryland. Plus – a little measure of faith in its head coach. The fans have turned the heat on Lincoln Riley like never before, and Riley’s turned the heat on himself, making clear he believes its his responsibility to maneuver USC in position to finish games.
“We’ve had a myriad of different issues,” Riley said Tuesday. “I think the reality is we’ve been in a lot of really close games. We’ve had some opportunities to separate in some games, and we haven’t. We need to get better at that.”
Now, if USC gets an opportunity to finish against Rutgers and doesn’t take it? Trojans Twitter may spontaneously combust. UCLA, those kids across town struggling mightily under first-year head coach DeShaun Foster, just got its Big Ten win against the Scarlet Knights last week while traveling about 2,800 miles across the country. A win would mean a glimmer of hope for USC. A loss would mean rock bottom.
Who’s better? USC, handedly. They’ve had the edge in this space five times this year, by the way, and come away with three wins. Not optimal. Rutgers might stand a little better chance at an upset if it wasn’t travelling those 2,800 miles right in turn to L.A. And on a short week. And with their body clocks set to play a football game at 11 p.m. Rutgers has a stud running back in Kyle Monangai who is averaging 120.7 yards a game, but the passing attack is shoddy and the defense has given up a combined 77 points to Wisconsin and UCLA the past couple weeks.
Matchup to watch: Everyone on USC’s defense against Monangai. That’s what it’ll take, as defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn preached Tuesday: “All 11 guys, every single play.”
“Out of all the backs we’ve played this year, he breaks the most tackles,” Lynn said. “He reminds me of Kareem Hunt.”
Monangai comes in having racked up 10 touchdowns and 550 yards after contact, according to Pro Football Focus. With run-stoppers Gentry and Lucas out for the season, and secondary playmakers like Ramsey and Jaylin Smith questionable to play, USC will need plenty of depth pieces – hello, Zion Branch? – to step up against Rutgers.
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USC wins if: Running backs Woody Marks and Quinten Joyner touch the ball 25-plus times and don’t cough it up … if they limit coverage busts against Rutgers quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis (53% completion rate) … if QB Miller Moss can limit any momentum-swinging mistakes.
Prediction: USC 41, Rutgers 17. Feels like a game in which USC should reclaim some momentum, and it has a major time-zone advantage on the Scarlet Knights.