The USC Trojans (3-4) will be playing under Friday night lights at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (4-3). This will be the first ever matchup between the two Big Ten teams in an East-versus-West matchup. Both teams are eyeing bowl game contention.
The Trojans hope to end their three-game losing streak after collapsing yet again in the final minutes against the Maryland Terrapins (4-3) in College Park, falling 29-28. Rutgers also hopes to end its three-game losing streak after falling 35-32 to UCLA at home. Both teams sit at the bottom half of the Big Ten standings each with only one conference win — USC at 16th and Rutgers at 14th.
The USC offense is charged by redshirt junior quarterback Miller Moss, who has thrown for 1,954 yards and 14 touchdowns this season. After a losing performance against the Terrapins that included three touchdowns and over 300 passing yards, Moss will look to finally get USC back in the win column.
In the Trojans’ running game, redshirt senior running back Woody Marks leads the team with 661 yards and 5 rushing touchdowns. After running for 82 yards last week, Marks will hope to improve on his performance and help the Trojans take down the Scarlet Knights.
On the opposing side, two players to keep an eye out for are senior quarterback Athan Kaliakmanis and senior running back Kyle Monangai. Kaliakmanis, a transfer from Minnesota, has helped improve the Rutgers’ passing offense from last season, throwing for 1,337 yards and eight touchdowns.
However, the biggest threat from the Scarlet Knights’ offense is their ground game, which has amassed a total of 1,332 yards with 845 of those yards coming from Monangai. After his 106-yard and three-touchdown performance against UCLA, Monangai could prove to be a serious problem for USC’s rush defense if he continues to perform at the level he has been playing at in recent games.
Defensively for Rutgers, USC will hope to capitalize on the Scarlet Knights’ recent defensive woes in their past two games. The Scarlet Knights gave up a combined 77 points against Wisconsin and UCLA and will be vulnerable against the Trojans. However, if Rutgers is able to match USC’s offensive output — which has allowed many games this season to remain tightly contested — the Scarlet Knights will be in with a chance to pull off an away upset.
If USC is to get its second Big Ten Conference win, the Trojans will need to try to gain a large lead before the later part of the game. USC has struggled to close out games all season with last-minute losses against Michigan, Minnesota, Penn State and Maryland. With all four of its losses combining to a total deficit of 14 points, USC’s lack of ability to close out tight games has cost it a potentially undefeated record.
If the Trojans are able to build a significant lead like they did against Wisconsin, they will have a legitimate chance to beat the Scarlet Knights and get themselves back into bowl game contention.
Kickoff between the Trojans and Scarlet Knights is slated for 8 p.m. at the Coliseum on Friday.