USC Trojans vs Rutgers Scarlet Knights Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 09/19/2026

Game Time: 3:30 pm ET, Saturday, September 19, 2026

Venue:  SHI Stadium, Piscataway, NJ

Where to Watch:  CBS

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  USC -23.5, Rutgers +23.5; Over/Under:  59.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  USC -23.5, Rutgers +23.5; Over/Under:  59.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  USC -23.5, Rutgers +23.5; Over/Under:  59.5 points

USC Trojans:  3-0 (0-0) (1st place, Big Ten)

Rutgers Scarlet Knights:  0-2 (0-0) (18th place, Big Ten)

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USC Trojans:  won their last game at home against the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns 49-30.

Rutgers Scarlet Knights:  lost their last game on the road against the Boston College Eagles 28-21.

USC is entering this game with a 3-0 record overall and they have a 0-0 record in their conference games too. They are 3-0 in their home games, 0-0 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be on the road for this game. They won their last game against Louisiana-Lafayette 49-30. Jayden Maiava was the starting QB and he completed 19/29 passes for 261 passing yards, 5 touchdowns, and 1 interception. King Miller led the team in rushing yards with 128 and 1 TD. Mark Bowman led the receivers with 83 receiving yards on 6 receptions and 2 TDs. Luke Wafle led the defense in that game with 7 tackles while Zuriah Fisher led the defense in sacks with 1. No one on the defense came away with an interception for them in that one.

 

 

 

Rutgers is entering this game with a 0-2 record overall and they have a 0-0 record in their conference games too. They are 0-1 in their home games, 0-1 in their road games, and they are also 0-0 in their neutral site games this season, but they will be at home for this game. They lost their last game against Boston College 28-21. AJ Surace was the starting QB and he completed 18/27 passes for 230 passing yards, 3 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions. Antwan Raymond led the team in rushing yards with 134. KJ Duff led the receivers with 137 receiving yards on 8 receptions and 2 TDs. Chris Joines and Latrell Noel each led the defense in that game with 4 tackles while Moses Walker led the defense in sacks with 1. Moses Walker came away with 2 interceptions for them in that one.

The current betting odds have USC listed as a 23.5 point favorite in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. USC has looked great in their games this season with their 3-0 record overall. They haven't played any road games though and will be playing their 1st road game of the season here. Meanwhile, Rutgers has looked terrible in their games this season with their 0-2 record overall which has them right at the bottom of the Big Ten as the only winless team. They haven't looked good on their home field either with their 0-1 home record this season. Rutgers is coming off a 28-21 loss to Boston College in their last one and that score is a lot closer than the game actually was. Rutgers was down right away in that one and were pretty much out of the game until they started coming back late. Boston College has been one of the worst programs in the ACC in recent years too, so that is a really bad loss, but not as bad as their week 1 loss. They lost at home to UMass in week 1 who didn't have a power 4 win in years and not only did they lose, they got destroyed on their own home field. They are shaping up to be the worst power 4 team in the nation this season and Schiano is pretty much a dead man walking at this point. USC has been rolling in their first 3 games and even though the defense hasn't looked great, the offense has looked great as usual. They are coming off a 49-30 win over Louisiana, but they were supposed to have an improved defense this year and will make it a point to play better defensively in this one. They had a bad defensive game in week 0 with a 42-26 win over San Jose State, but they answered the call with a 39-0 win over Fresno State the next week and will be looking to do the same here as they use this 1st conference game on the road against a team like Rutgers as a tune up. The best way to place a bet here is on USC to cover the spread in this game. 

USC Rutgers Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Saturday, September 19, 2026 (3:30 pm ET start time) is USC 45 Rutgers 10.

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USC Trojans: 1-7 ATS as a road favorite. 5-9 ATS when the total is between 56.5 and 63. 2-7 ATS after scoring 37 points or more last game. 3-0 OVER after 3 or more consecutive straight up wins.

Rutgers Scarlet Knights: 6-3 ATS in September games. 16-9 1H ATS against FBS division opponents. 8-2 1H ATS vs. good teams - outscoring opponents by 10+ PPG on the season. 12-3 OVER in home lined games.

USC Trojans:  R. Tezeno (WR) Questionable - Foot. S. Huard (QB) Questionable - Undisclosed. R. Ison (WR) Questionable - Undisclosed. K. O'Connor (OG) Out - Undisclosed.

Rutgers Scarlet Knights:  F. Toure (WR) Questionable - Knee. D. Lonergan (QB) Questionable - Undisclosed.

"We've played a ton of young guys, some early in games, some later. Generally, I feel very positive. If there's another team having more young guys contribute in the country right now, I'd love to see it. I'm very positive. There's still a lot of growth that has to happen, whether it's the guys that are playing with the first and second teams, or some of the guys that are playing down the line a little bit. We just have to keep growing. I feel like our peak, or our trajectory, should be even higher because of how many young guys are playing and learning and playing in their first games. We should have a chance to really really grow throughout the season. That would be a big focus point for us." - Lincoln Riley after his team’s win against ULL in their last game. 

"(USC is a) really talented football team in all three phases. Really well coached. Lincoln Riley's an excellent coach. It's going to be quite a challenge, and one that we're excited about." - Greg Schiano on his team’s upcoming game against USC this week.

WR Simms, Corey

WR Dixon-Wyatt, Kayden

WR Mosley, Trent

TE Bowman, Mark

QB Maiava, Jayden

RB Jordan, Waymond

WR Black III, Ben

WR Duff, KJ

WR Houston, Jourdin

TE Blake, Logan

QB Surace, AJ

RB Raymond, Antwan

Passing: Jayden Maiava (896)

Rushing: King Miller (236)

Receiving: Trent Mosley (255)

Touchdowns: Trent Mosley (4)

Passing: AJ Surace (307)

Rushing: Antwan Raymond (176)

Receiving: KJ Duff (333)

Touchdowns: KJ Duff (5)

Coaches:

USC Trojans: Lincoln Riley (5th season)

Rutgers Scarlet Knights: Greg Schiano (7th season)