ESPN College GameDay passed on a matchup that had plenty going for it: No. 20 Oregon at No.
12 USC on Sept. 26.
The Ducks and Trojans bring the kind of name value, personality, and built-in conversation that usually makes for easy television, which is why the choice to head to Knoxville, Tennessee instead stood out.
That trip to Knoxville means College GameDay will be there for the No. 1 Texas and No.
14 Tennessee Volunteers matchup, billed around the question of “who the real UT is.” It also keeps the show in SEC territory once again.
At the same time, Oregon at USC landed with NBC’s Big Ten Saturday, but that still doesn’t prevent GameDay from going to a Big Ten campus for its pregame coverage.
The Oregon-USC angle has only gotten sharper since the Big Ten expanded to the West Coast, with Lincoln Riley and Dan Lanning already looking like the kind of coaching pair that can define a new conference rivalry. Both coaches are made for the spotlight, especially when they’re seated side by side.
Lanning would have had to answer for Oregon’s 84-0 win over Portland State on Sept. 18.
Riley, meanwhile, would have been pressed on whether he still feels the heat after USC’s 4-0 start, particularly with the Trojans’ defensive issues over the last two games. Allowing 35 points to Rutgers only added to the unease in Los Angeles.
There’s also the possibility of even more inside-baseball conversation if Nick Saban were involved on the set. He could have offered stories about his former assistant Lanning, while Riley might have had something to say about his 2018 meeting with Saban’s Alabama team in the Orange Bowl. Another layer would be any discussion of their connection to Jalen Hurts, who left Alabama for Riley’s Oklahoma.
That kind of exchange would have given GameDay plenty to work with. It’s the sort of matchup that naturally invites stories, not just scores.
USC also carries a different kind of scrutiny than most ranked teams. The Trojans drew a sparse crowd for their week zero opener against San Jose State, and the Friday night game against Fresno State, which started after 6 p.m.
PT, also left plenty of empty seats. Even the week three game against Louisiana, played after 8 p.m.
PT, never reached a sellout.
That’s part of why a sold-out Oregon-USC game matters so much. It gives USC fans a chance to quiet the critics who have questioned their attendance, while also setting up a lively scene with a heavy showing of Oregon supporters in the building.
Both programs also come with a strong celebrity footprint. Oregon’s fan base includes actor Ty Burrell, legendary actor Sam Elliott, and Hip-Hop figure Big Boi of OutKast, whose son played at Oregon from 2019 to 2021.
USC’s list is just as loaded, with George Lucas, Will Ferrell, and Snoop Dogg among the most recognizable names attached to the Trojans. Snoop would have been a natural celebrity guest picker, given both his public USC loyalty and his Youth Football League ties to the college game.
Instead, NBC will likely get the spotlight on whatever celebrity names show up. But Oregon at USC still looks like the kind of game that could have given College GameDay a full afternoon’s worth of storylines, including the possibility that the loser gets pushed out of both the conference title chase and the College Football Playoff race.
In Other News...
USC Escaped Rutgers But One Troubling Issue Still Lingers
No. 12 USC left with a 42-35 win over Rutgers, but the kind of victory that raises as many questions as it answers. The Trojans needed big plays from redshirt sophomore Miller and redshirt-freshman Riley Wormley to stay ahead, as both supplied key rushing production and touchdowns while the offense leaned heavily on individual talent to keep pace with a Scarlet Knights team that kept pushing back.
For all the points USC put on the board, the cleaner picture never really arrived. Penalties continued to stall drives, the passing game was uneven, and Rutgers made the Trojans work for every stop in a game that stayed tight deep into the night. USC escaped with the result it needed, but the lingering concern is whether this was simply a tough road test or another sign that the offense still has a lot to sort out. [Read more 🡒]
Lincoln Rileys USC Reaction Says A Lot About Rutgers Fight
The Trojans got what they needed in their first road game of 2026, but it was hardly a clean afternoon in their Big Ten opener. USC put up 42 points to edge Rutgers 42-35, and Lincoln Rileys postgame reaction reflected both the relief of getting out with a win and the frustration of knowing the game never felt fully under control.
Riley praised the result, but he was just as clear about what kept the Scarlet Knights around. USC gave up too many big plays and too many penalties, and Rutgers found ways to tilt momentum with a pick six from Christian Pierce and a fake punt that changed the feel of the game. For a team trying to settle into a new conference rhythm, the win mattered, but the sloppiness made it obvious there is still work to do. [Read more 🡒]
Rutgers Fans Wont Like How USC Kept That Drive Alive
USCs first road game of the season came with a third-quarter sequence that perfectly fit the kind of afternoon a visiting team can survive but a home crowd never forgets. Against Rutgers, an inadvertent whistle erased a completed third-down pass and turned what looked like a stopping point into a do-over, putting the Trojans back in a tense spot as the possession kept twisting.
What followed only added to the frustration for the Scarlet Knights. USC failed on the replayed third down, then made a fourth-down gamble work with a 32-yard completion that kept the drive alive and helped the No. 12 Trojans stay in control on the way to a 4-0 start. [Read more 🡒]