USC heads to Rutgers this weekend for the Trojans’ 2026 Big Ten opener, and right now the Scarlet Knights are looking like the weakest Power Four team in the country.
That’s not just a hot take thrown around after one bad Saturday. Rutgers has already stacked up losses that raise real questions about where this team stands.
The first was a brutal home defeat against UMass, an annual doormat, in a game Rutgers was favored by 30 points and still lost by more than two touchdowns. Then came another setback Friday night against Boston College.
Boston College, of course, had already opened its season with a loss to Cincinnati and was also playing without one of its most important offensive pieces. As College Sports Wire reported in July, coach Bill O'Brien told ESPN's Pete Thamel that sophomore tight end Kaelan Chudzinski would miss the entire 2026 season with an Achilles injury.
O'Brien said Chudzinski will be back in January and joked, If you asked him, he’d tell you he’s not out for the season. Chudzinski was one of the better tight ends in the ACC last year as a true freshman.
Playing in 12 games, he caught 24 passes for 313 yards and four touchdowns, earning Freshman All-American honors from several publications as a result.
The loss mattered because Chudzinski had become a major part of the Eagles’ offense. With Boston College’s top-three receivers gone and a new quarterback in place, he was the most proven option in the passing game. The Eagles’ passing attack was still decent last season despite constant turnover at quarterback, but now they have turned to Division II transfer Mason McKenzie and will have to find production elsewhere.
All of that leaves USC walking into New Jersey against a Rutgers team that has already taken on plenty of damage early.
In Other News...
USCs First Month Is Raising One Big Question About This Team
Through the first month of the 2026 season, USC has looked the part of a team with real offensive punch, and the numbers back up much of what the eye test suggests. The Trojans are sitting near the top of the national rankings in several key categories, with Jayden Maiava driving the passing game and Trent Mosley emerging as a reliable target in a lineup that has found ways to move the ball quickly and consistently. Even the situational stuff has leaned in USCs favor, from fourth-down success to the kind of possession profile that helps an offense settle into rhythm.
The bigger question is what all of that means once the game shifts to the other side of the ball, because the statistical split is hard to ignore. USCs offensive profile looks like it belongs in the national conversation, but the defensive and Big Ten rankings leave room for doubt about how sustainable this start really is against the leagues better teams. For now, the Trojans have given themselves early momentum, but the next stretch will say a lot about whether this is a fast start or the shape of something more complete. [Read more 🡒]
USC Walks Into A Road Game That Could Get Awkward Fast
Rutgers enters its matchup with USC already in a difficult spot, with the Scarlet Knights off to a rough start and the kind of early-season questions that tend to hang around a program until they are answered on the field. Two lopsided losses, including a home defeat to UMass and another setback against Boston College, have left the season feeling shakier than Rutgers would have hoped this early.
For USC, that makes a road trip that should be manageable look a little more complicated than the matchup alone suggests. Rutgers will be trying to steady itself at home, and head coach Greg Schiano is already facing outside concern about his job security, which gives this game an edge beyond the usual Big Ten chatter. A team searching for traction can be dangerous for a visitor if the opening stretch gets messy. [Read more 🡒]
JuJu Watkins Gives USC Fans An Early Look At Something Big
USC is giving fans an early chance to see what this season could look like when the womens basketball team hosts California in a ticketed exhibition called the First Look on Oct. 25 at the Galen Center. The game will not count toward the record, but it does bring together a few of the most intriguing pieces on the roster, with senior guard JuJu Watkins expected to be part of the showcase and new signee Saniyah Hall also set to draw plenty of attention.
The event is being framed as more than just a scrimmage, with additional fan activities planned and a stream available on Big Ten Plus for those who cannot make it in person. For USC, it is a useful way to put the spotlight on a group that has already generated plenty of interest before the real schedule begins, and an even better way to give supporters a first close-up look at how the Trojans may start to come together. [Read more 🡒]