No. 14 USC gets another shot at settling in at home Friday night, this time with Fresno State coming to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
The Trojans already have one game in the books after opening with a 42-26 win over San Jose State last weekend, and they’ll try to turn that head start into a 2-0 start in Los Angeles. Last week’s conversation around USC had less to do with the scoreboard and more to do with the sight of empty seats in the stands. This time around, the hope is that a Friday night kickoff, cooler conditions and a tougher opponent will bring a different feel.
The matchup also comes with a weird little college football twist. USC used to be part of the Pac-12 before leaving with UCLA for the Big Ten, a move that helped set off the conference’s collapse.
Washington and Oregon eventually followed, and the league was left searching for a way forward. Now it’s back as an eight-team conference with a heavier Mountain West look, and Fresno State is one of the newcomers.
So yes, this is a former Pac-12 team facing a first-game Pac-12 team in 2026.
There’s a strong case for USC in this spot. Since Lincoln Riley took over, the Trojans are 9-1 in nonconference home games, with the only loss coming against No.
5 Notre Dame to close the 2024 regular season. Outside of that, USC has been overwhelming at home in these kinds of games, averaging 52.8 points per contest.
Fresno State, meanwhile, has a tough history when the opponent is elite. The Bulldogs are 2-25 all-time against AP top-15 teams and 1-7 in their last eight games against Big Ten opponents. They did pull off a win at Purdue to open the 2023 season, but that’s the exception rather than the rule.
Friday’s game is set for 9 p.m. ET on Fox from Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
The pick here leans heavily toward the Trojans, with USC expected to use its game experience and home edge to jump on Fresno State early. The call: USC -21.5.
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USC is getting a useful measuring stick early, and it comes in the form of a Fresno State defense that was the best unit in the Mountain West a year ago. The Bulldogs held opponents to just 286 yards and 19 points per game, and the strength starts up front under defensive coordinator Nick Benedetto, who brought his system over from Northern Illinois and has plenty of experience to lean on in the trenches.
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USC Already Has One Clear Strength And One Growing Concern
USCs season opener against San Jose State offered an early look at what this roster might already do well, and which parts still need work. Jayden Maiava handled his first game of the year with plenty of positives, while defensive tackle Jide Abasiri also stood out in a performance that gave the Trojans something to build on. There were encouraging contributions, too, from wide receiver Trent Mosley and running back King Miller, suggesting the offense has multiple pieces ready to matter right away.
The concern showed up on the other side of the ball, where the secondary and some individual defenders had a rougher time keeping things clean. Kam Crawford was among the players who struggled, and that mattered because USCs defense is still trying to sort out its identity as the schedule moves forward. One game does not settle the bigger picture, but it did give the Trojans a pretty clear snapshot of where the strength is and where the questions are likely to linger. [Read more 🡒]