USC’s 2026 home slate at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum comes with real weight, and the Trojans have already shown they know how to protect their turf. They finished the 2025 season unbeaten at home, one of nine Power Four programs to do it, and it marked the second undefeated home season of Lincoln Riley’s USC tenure. The other came in 2022, when former quarterback Caleb Williams took home the Heisman Trophy.
Now the Coliseum is set for a run of games that could shape USC’s push toward the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history.
The first must-see date arrives Sept. 26, when Oregon visits for the Trojans’ Big Ten home opener. It has the feel of an early-season measuring stick, and maybe more than that.
A win over a Ducks team Riley has not yet beaten would give USC a major jolt heading into the heart of the season. The quarterback matchup should draw plenty of attention, too, with USC’s Jayden Maiava and Oregon’s Dante Moore both entering the year as potential Heisman Trophy candidates.
Both quarterbacks were among the Big Ten’s top three passers last season and each topped 3,500 yards. Maiava led the conference with 3,711 passing yards, 24 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, while posting the nation’s second-best QBR at 89.9.
A week later, USC stays at home for another familiar name from the old Pac-12 days. Washington comes to the Coliseum on Oct. 3, setting up the first meeting between the teams since 2024, when the Huskies beat USC 26-21 in Seattle.
Washington has won the last three meetings, and the Trojans will be looking to end that streak. The matchup also gives USC’s defense, now under first-year coordinator Gary Patterson, another tough assignment against one of the Big Ten’s top returning quarterbacks in Demond Williams Jr.
He finished last season with 3,065 passing yards, 25 touchdowns, eight interceptions and a 75.7 QBR.
Then comes Halloween, and with it USC’s first-ever Big Ten meeting with Ohio State at the Coliseum. It also will be the first time Lincoln Riley and Ryan Day face each other. The Buckeyes bring another high-level quarterback test in Julian Sayin, and if USC can spring the upset, it could be the kind of win that helps push the Trojans into the CFP conversation for the first time.
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Washington Fall Camp Changes Just Put Several Roster Battles In Focus
Fall camp always brings a fresh round of roster housekeeping, but Washingtons latest update did more than tidy up the media guide. The Huskies refreshed player heights, weights and jersey numbers ahead of camp, giving a first real look at how the roster has changed since spring. For a team trying to sort out its depth chart, even those small details can matter, especially when a handful of players show notable movement on the scale and several newcomers are now wearing different numbers.
The number changes are part of the intrigue for a group that is still taking shape at multiple spots, with true freshmen among those getting new assignments and veterans also settling into updated looks. The measurements and weights do not settle any position battles on their own, but they do hint at where Washington sees players fitting as camp opens. For fans watching the roster churn, it is the kind of quiet update that can reveal which jobs are genuinely up for grabs. [Read more 🡒]
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Kelly and McKeta came through during earlier generations of Huskies football, while Victor represents a more recent chapter, one tied to the modern era of the program and its place in the NFL pipeline. Taken together, their paths show how Washington has kept producing players whose careers stretch from the draft into professional football, and the countdown to the Apple Cup now carries a little extra history with it. [Read more 🡒]