For a brief stretch at SHI Stadium on Saturday, Rutgers had reason to believe. Then USC ripped that feeling away in an instant, turning a 99-yard interception return into the swing play of a 42-35 Trojans win over the Knights.
That moment changed everything. USC improved to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in conference play, while Rutgers fell to 0-3 and 0-1. It also extended a brutal run for the Knights: they have now lost 44 straight games against ranked opponents, a streak that goes back to 2009.
Rutgers did not roll over, and that mattered. Against No.
12 USC, the Knights delivered their most complete effort of the season, even if the final result still came up short. The defense kept quarterback Jayden Maiava bottled up on the ground, limiting him to nine rushing yards and forcing him to stay in the pocket for most of the afternoon.
Greg Schiano also showed he is willing to gamble to win, not just survive. Rutgers tried a 4th-and-1 direct snap to junior running back Antwan Raymond late, and later dialed up a fake punt from deep in its own end, with junior punter Jakob Anderson hitting senior defensive back Jesse Ofurie for a 40-yard gain. The 4th-and-1 did not work, but the call reflected a team trying to take the game instead of merely hanging around.
Still, the larger picture is hard to ignore. Schiano is coaching in a season where every close loss feels heavier, and an 0-3 start has put him in a difficult spot. Rutgers played hard, but that alone does not erase the fact that this group still does not have a signature win seven years into his tenure.
The biggest issue on Saturday was the same one that has haunted Rutgers all season: turnovers. Senior quarterback Dylan Lonergan threw two interceptions that landed like body blows.
His first pass of the game sailed over junior wide receiver KJ Duff by about 10 yards, giving USC the ball just outside the red zone. Two plays later, the Trojans scored a touchdown.
Then came the dagger. With Rutgers down by six and sitting at the nine-yard line, Lonergan threw a 99-yard pick-six that completely flipped the game.
Lonergan finished 18-for-36 for 252 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions. Through three games, Rutgers quarterbacks have thrown nine interceptions, the most of any FBS team. The Knights have already committed 10 total turnovers, which is nearly matching last season’s 11.
Backup quarterback AJ Surace has a similar profile to Lonergan, but the turnover issues are loud enough that he deserves another look if Lonergan keeps giving the ball away.
There were some encouraging signs in the passing game beyond Duff, too. Two Rutgers receivers found the end zone for the first time in their careers: freshman Elias Coke caught a 16-yard touchdown late in the second quarter, and sophomore Vernon Allen took a catch 28 yards for a score. Schiano said Wednesday that the receivers behind Duff were “coming on strong,” and this time the production backed up that belief.
Duff will still be the center of the offense, and rightfully so. But if Rutgers is going to build anything more dangerous, it needs another receiver to step forward alongside him.
USC, meanwhile, looked exactly like the kind of Lincoln Riley team people have come to expect: explosive on offense, leaky on defense. The Trojans gave up 460 yards and 28 points to Rutgers after allowing 30 points to Louisiana the week before.
They also moved the ball in every direction. Maiava threw for 277 yards, while King Miller and Riley Wormley each scored rushing touchdowns. The Trojans may be ranked No. 12 right now, but performances like Saturday’s will keep testing how long that stays true.
In Other News...
Lincoln Rileys USC Reaction Says A Lot About Rutgers Fight
Rutgers made USC work for every bit of its 42-35 win in the Trojans first road game of the 2026 season, and Lincoln Rileys tone afterward reflected just how much the Scarlet Knights pushed the visitors. The game doubled as USCs first Big Ten opener, and Riley pointed to a mix of strong offensive moments and the kind of defensive lapses that can turn a road trip into a fight, especially in this league.
For Rutgers, the details Riley called out were the ones that kept the game alive: big plays, penalties and a fake punt that helped tilt the evening into a pressure-packed fourth quarter. Even in defeat, the Scarlet Knights showed enough fight to force USC into a game Riley knew would matter in the conference race, which is why the loss still carried the feel of something Rutgers can build on. [Read more 🡒]
Rutgers Fans Wont Like How USC Kept That Drive Alive
Rutgers got a front-row look at how quickly a promising defensive stand can turn frustrating in a game like this. In USCs first road test of the season, the third quarter brought a sequence that left the Scarlet Knights chasing the officials as much as the Trojans, with an inadvertent whistle wiping out a third-down conversion before the drive was extended anyway through a series of penalties and a fourth-down completion.
For Rutgers fans, the aggravation was obvious because the stop they needed never quite arrived, and the drive stayed alive long enough for USC to keep control of the moment. The No. 12 Trojans left with the win and moved to 4-0, while Rutgers was left replaying one of those swing sequences that can loom large long after the final whistle. [Read more 🡒]
Rutgers Showed Real Fight Against USC But One Problem Lingered
Rutgers left plenty to build on after hanging with No. 12 USC in a 42-35 game that felt tight all the way through. Dylan Lonergan gave the Scarlet Knights a puncher's chance with 252 passing yards and three touchdowns, while KJ Duff and Antwan Raymond helped keep the offense moving and gave Rutgers answers whenever the Trojans tried to separate.
The issue was on the other side of the ball, where USC eventually found enough balance to keep the Scarlet Knights chasing. Jayden Maiava threw for 277 yards and two scores, and the Trojans added 184 rushing yards with two more touchdowns, a reminder that Rutgers fight was real even if its defense could not quite close the door when it mattered most. [Read more 🡒]