Rutgers heads into Week 3 with USC arriving in Piscataway, and the matchup comes with a familiar warning sign for the Scarlet Knights: the Trojans already proved last year they can put pressure on Rutgers in a hurry.
These teams have only met once before, and that came in 2024 in a late-night game that pushed East Coast fans deep into the night. Rutgers actually moved the ball well in that one, piling up 434 yards and going 11-for-22 on third down.
The Scarlet Knights also ran 89 plays, the most for the program in a Big Ten game. But all that offense still wasn’t enough because the defense couldn’t slow USC down.
The 2026 meeting is set for Saturday, September 19 at 3:30 PM ET at SHI Stadium in Piscataway, NJ. CBS will carry the game with Brad Nessler on play-by-play, Charles Davis on color, and Jenny Dell on the sideline.
Fans can also stream it on the Paramount+ App. On the radio side, the RWJBarnabas Health Rutgers Sports Network will air on WFAN 101.9 FM/660 AM and Fox Sports New Jersey 93.5 FM/1450 AM, with Chris Carlin, Eric LeGrand, Mike Teel, and Anthony Fucilli on the call.
WRSU 88.7 FM will have Will Carmenaty, Chase Jacoby, and Makali Pennycooke, while the game is also available on the Audacy app, SiriusXM 271, and the Scarlet Knights app.
Weather for kickoff is expected to be 73 degrees with partly cloudy skies, no chance of rain, and winds at 5-10 mph.
The numbers tell the story of where each team stands right now. Rutgers’ passing leader is AJ Surace, who has gone 24-for-36 for 307 yards with 4 touchdowns and 4 interceptions.
Antwan Raymond leads the ground game with 176 yards on 41 carries, good for 4.3 yards per carry. K.J.
Duff tops the receiving chart with 17 catches for 333 yards and 5 touchdowns, while Jesse Ofurie leads the defense with 13 tackles and Moses Walker has two interceptions. Rutgers has not recorded a sack.
For USC, Jayden Maiava has been sharp through the air, completing 67 of 83 passes for 896 yards with 10 touchdowns and 1 interception.
Rutgers has already used both quarterbacks this season, and neither has brought much confidence. That puts even more pressure on a defense that has struggled, especially with Lincoln Riley and a USC offense that has shown plenty of firepower. The expectation here is another one-sided Big Ten game for Rutgers, with the main question being whether USC can clear a spread that sits at more than three touchdowns.
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Rutgers Fans Are Facing A Hard Truth About Big Ten Relevance
Rutgers football once gave its fan base a very different kind of autumn, when the program surged under Greg Schiano and Kyle Flood and reached heights that still stand out in school history. The Scarlet Knights went 11-2 in 2006 and finished No. 12 in the final AP ranking, a reminder that this program was not always defined by trying to keep pace, but by occasionally forcing the rest of the country to notice.
Since moving into the Big Ten, though, Rutgers has found the climb far steeper and the familiar breakthrough far harder to repeat. The program has had only two seasons with six or more wins since 2015, and the combination of tighter financial limits and a much more punishing conference landscape has made the old level of relevance difficult to reclaim. For a fan base that remembers what the peak looked like, the question is no longer whether Rutgers can flash again, but how long it can keep searching for a path back. [Read more 🡒]
Moses Walker Gives Rutgers A Defensive Spark At The Perfect Time
Moses Walker has given Rutgers a timely lift on defense just as the schedule is about to tighten. The senior linebacker was named Comeback Player of the Week after a standout performance that included two interceptions and a sack, an outing that helped underline why he remains such an important leader for the Scarlet Knights through the first two games of the season.
Now the challenge only gets bigger with USC next on the slate, and Rutgers will need that same disruptive edge to carry over. The Trojans bring a test that can expose a defense if it loses discipline for even a few snaps, which makes Walkers presence in the middle of things especially valuable as the Scarlet Knights try to carry some momentum into the matchup. [Read more 🡒]
Rutgers Heads Into USC With One Huge Decision Still Unsettled
Rutgers spent the lead-up to USC focusing on a Trojans offense that has leaned on youth early, with freshmen Trent Mosley and Kayden Dixon-Wyatt giving Lincoln Riley another layer of danger at receiver. Tight end Mark Bowman and sophomore wideout Jourdin Houston only add to the sense that this is not a unit waiting for its veterans to carry the load, and for the Scarlet Knights it means the defensive plan has to account for speed and unpredictability all over the field.
Greg Schiano still has one major call hanging over the week, though, and it is the kind of decision that shapes everything else on game day. He has not named a starting quarterback for the trip to USC, leaving Rutgers with a little more uncertainty than it would like before facing a high-powered opponent on the road, even as the program continues to sort out how several younger players fit into the picture this season. [Read more 🡒]