5 things to watch when USC football faces Rutgers in Big Ten opener

PISCATAWAY, NJ — USC football coach Lincoln Riley is about to stand across the field from someone who is really feeling the heat.Greg Schiano’s seat is so hot that it’s a good thing he gets to stand on the sideline during games.The Rutgers coach could be on the way out any day now, with speculation swirling that another public shaming might be the final act of his second stint in Piscataway.It’s not clear if a blowout loss to the No.12 Trojans (3-0) at home would qualify, but it certainly wouldn’t help.

The Scarlet Knights (0-2) are 21.5-point underdogs after having suffered national embarrassment during a season-opening stumble against UMass before falling to Boston College.Here are five things to watch in a Big Ten opener scheduled to kick off at 12:30 p.m.PDT on CBS:USC had more success on the road during its second season in the Big Ten than its first.After going 1-3 in conference away games in 2024, the Trojans went 2-2 in 2025.Riley said he would continue to make adjustments for longer trips, which are a fact of life in this conference.

The team flew Thursday — a day earlier than normal — for the 2,769-mile trip to Piscataway.Riley added that some adjustments had been made to the aircraft as well as efforts to keep players’ body clocks on optimal times.“The nice thing for us now,” Riley said, “is we’re not just only listening to other people or other teams that have done this or teams in other leagues, like, we’re actually able to take some of our own experience with it now, and some of the things that we’ve done that we liked.”This might not be the only game the Trojans are without star freshman wide receiver Trent Mosley.The way Riley spoke earlier this week, it sounded as if Mosley might miss multiple games after suffering an injury against Louisiana last week.

Mosley was spotted with ice wrapped around one of his knees during the game, but the exact nature of what he’s dealing with hasn’t been specified.Fortunately for ...