Box Score
| Team stats | USC Trojans | Rutgers Scarlet Knights |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 24 | 27 |
| Total yards | 464 | 460 |
| Passing yards | 277 | 292 |
| Rushing yards | 187 | 168 |
| Third down | 5-10 | 6-11 |
| Fourth down | 1-2 | 3-4 |
| Turnovers | 0 | 2 |
| Penalties | 8 | 5 |
| Penalty yards | 71 | 39 |
| Possession | 26:26 | 33:08 |
Box score from BALLDONTLIE, updating through the game.
| USC | Rutgers | |
|---|---|---|
| Record | 3-0, ranked No. 12 | 0-3, unranked |
| Results so far | Beat San Jose State 42-26, Fresno State 39-0, Louisiana 49-30 | Lost 37-21 to UMass, then 28-21 to Boston College |
| Home and away | Travelling five time zones | All three losses came at SHI Stadium |
| The angle | Long history of struggling in early East Coast kickoffs | Defense has not stopped anyone |
What to Watch
Whether USC treats this seriously. The Trojans have been road disaster specialists in the Big Ten era, and a 3:30 p.m. Eastern kickoff is effectively a 12:30 p.m. body clock start for a team that flew across the country. That is the entire Rutgers case, and it is not nothing.
The problem for Rutgers is that the defense has not stopped anyone. Giving up 37 to UMass at home is not a scheme problem that gets fixed in two weeks, and USC’s offense is far better than anything the Scarlet Knights have faced. The full breakdown is on our USC vs. Rutgers preview, and the rest of the weekend is on the Week 3 schedule.
The Bottom Line
USC at Rutgers kicks off Saturday, September 19 at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS. The scoreboard above updates automatically.