Wk 3 · 2026
USC Trojans at Rutgers Scarlet Knights — Sat, Sep 19
Sat, Sep 19 ·
SHI Stadium, Piscataway
· CBS
#14 USC Trojans
Big Ten · no games yet
at
3:30pET
no line posted yet
Ratings differential USC by 12.4
Big Ten · no games yet
What is at stake
A Big Ten game — it counts in the standings that decide that league's championship game. Run the race. USC is ranked #14 (AP Top 25 ยท 2026-08-17).
What the ratings imply
The differential above is arithmetic on two published numbers:
The College King’s 2025 final efficiency ratings, plus
2.4 points of home field.
It is not a projection, a value, an edge or a lean, and nothing on this site
compares it with the betting line to tell you one is better. Until 2026
games are played it is last season’s measurement of two teams that have
changed.
Efficiency · 2025 ratings
Efficiency margin
Offense (pts/100)
Defense (pts/100)
Pace (plays/g)
Yards / play
Yards / play allowed
Opponent-adjusted ratings from The College
King's 2025 final numbers. Bars share a scale within each row; the
brighter side is the better of the two, and a longer bar is always the better number
— including the rows where a lower figure is the good one.
Team stats · 2025 per game
Points / game
Points allowed
Yards / game
Yards allowed
Pass yds allowed
Rush yds allowed
Turnovers / game
From completed 2025 box scores;
defensive yardage covers the regular season and conference championships.
USC form
W 29-10vs UCLAL 27-42at OREW 26-21vs IOWAW 38-17vs NUW 21-17at NEB
2025 season
Rutgers form
L 36-40vs PSUL 9-42at OSUW 35-20vs MDL 13-35at ILLW 27-24at PUR
2025 season
USC this season
No graded games yet this season. Lines are captured before kickoff and graded when a game goes final, so these records start at Week 1.
Rutgers this season
No graded games yet this season. Lines are captured before kickoff and graded when a game goes final, so these records start at Week 1.
Lines are captured from ESPN's board before kickoff and locked when the game goes final. There is no line archive before this season, so these records begin with 2026 Week 1.
Common opponents · 4
| Opponent | USC | Rutgers |
|---|---|---|
| Penn State Big Ten | at Wk 6 · scheduled preview | at Wk 12 · scheduled preview |
| Wisconsin Big Ten | at Wk 8 · scheduled preview | at Wk 10 · scheduled preview |
| Indiana Big Ten | at Wk 11 · scheduled preview | vs Wk 5 · scheduled preview |
| Maryland Big Ten | vs Wk 12 · scheduled preview | at Wk 7 · scheduled preview |
Open these two in the
comparison tool for every shared and unshared opponent.
Series history · 2006–2026
USC leads the series 1–0 · USC won the last one
1 meeting
in 2006–2026 · average margin
22.0 points toward USC
| Yr | Date | Result | Site | Won |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2024-10-25 | Rutgers 20 — 42 USC | at USC | USC |
USC leaders 2025 regular season
| Passing | Jayden Maiava QB #14 | 247/373, 3431 YDS, 23 TD, 8 INT |
| Husan Longstreet QB #6 | 13/15, 103 YDS, 1 TD | |
| Rushing | King Miller RB #8 | 131 CAR, 873 YDS, 7 TD |
| Waymond Jordan RB #2 | 88 CAR, 576 YDS, 5 TD | |
| Eli Sanders RB #1 | 47 CAR, 264 YDS, 2 TD | |
| Receiving | Makai Lemon WR #6 | 79 REC, 1156 YDS, 11 TD |
| Ja'Kobi Lane WR #8 | 49 REC, 745 YDS, 4 TD | |
| Lake McRee TE #87 | 30 REC, 450 YDS, 4 TD | |
| Tanook Hines WR #16 | 28 REC, 398 YDS, 2 TD |
Defense
| Tackles | Desman Stephens II LB #8 | 83 |
| Eric Gentry LB #18 | 76 | |
| Christian Pierce S #6 | 58 | |
| Sacks | Braylan Shelby DE #10 | 4.5 |
| Kameryn Crawford DE #1 | 3.5 | |
| Jide Abasiri DT #97 | 3.5 | |
| Interceptions | Bishop Fitzgerald S #19 | 5 |
| Jamaal Jarrett DT #99 | 1 | |
| Braylan Shelby DE #10 | 1 |
Rutgers leaders 2025 regular season
| Passing | Athan Kaliakmanis QB #16 | 229/368, 3124 YDS, 20 TD, 7 INT |
| AJ Surace QB #10 | 4/9, 58 YDS, 2 TD | |
| Rushing | Antwan Raymond RB #3 | 244 CAR, 1241 YDS, 13 TD |
| Ja'shon Benjamin RB #20 | 68 CAR, 328 YDS, 2 TD | |
| CJ Campbell Jr. RB #0 | 22 CAR, 119 YDS | |
| Receiving | KJ Duff WR #8 | 60 REC, 1084 YDS, 7 TD |
| Ian Strong WR #9 | 52 REC, 762 YDS, 5 TD | |
| DT Sheffield WR #0 | 44 REC, 577 YDS, 5 TD | |
| Kenny Fletcher Jr. TE #12 | 26 REC, 236 YDS |
Defense
| Tackles | Jett Elad DB #9 | 77 |
| Dariel Djabome LB #8 | 67 | |
| Kaj Sanders DB #1 | 64 | |
| Sacks | Bradley Weaver DL #94 | 2.5 |
| Eric O'Neill EDGE #99 | 2.5 | |
| Dariel Djabome LB #8 | 2 | |
| Interceptions | Jett Elad DB #9 | 2 |
| Cam Miller CB #7 | 1 | |
| Bo Mascoe DB #5 | 1 |
These are regular-season totals for
the season named on each card — the players who led that team that year,
taken from ESPN's team leaders. That list is keyed to the season, not to today's
roster, so a leader who has since transferred or run out of eligibility still
appears against the year he earned it; the
roster
pages and the depth chart on each team page are where the current squad is.
A team switches to this season's numbers once it has played a game. The roster
pages count bowl games too, so a player's two lines can differ by a game.