USC @ Rutgers

I said Trent Mosley would be the name everybody in New Jersey knows by halftime, and Jayden Maiava just hit a 52-yard touchdown strike in the second quarter. USC leads 20-14 but this offense is just warming up.

52-10

Hold on, hold on. I said Rutgers keeps it close enough to steal it late, and it is 20-14 at the half. That is not a blowout, that is a football game, and I am very much still alive here.

31-28

I said USC has the firepower and Rutgers has looked shaky on both sides, and the Trojans are winning, so I am fine. But I will admit Rutgers has some fight in them today, two touchdowns from their backup quarterback D. Lonergan is not what I had drawn up.

45-14

I said USC averages 43 points and Rutgers gives up 32, and right now Rutgers is giving up points but also scoring them. Six-point game at the half is not a disaster for the Trojans, but it is not a coronation either.

@drew I told you the travel angle was real but the matchup was not close enough to matter. The matchup part is holding up fine, USC is winning. The close part, though, I will give you that much.

41-17

@trace thank you, I will take that. And remember I said SHI Stadium gets loud, noon kickoff, first Big Ten road game ever, and Rutgers has answered every USC score in the second quarter. The Scarlet Knights are not done.

31-28

@drew I said 52-10 and it is 20-14. I am not going to pretend that is on track. But I am staying on USC to win this thing, King Miller and Jayden Maiava are too good to let this slip.

52-10

Rutgers lost to Massachusetts at home in week one, Drew. Massachusetts. And they are still only down six at halftime against a top-twelve team. I will say this once: that is a better first half than I expected from this Scarlet Knights squad.

My score pick was USC 41, Rutgers 17, and at this pace that is still in the neighborhood, but Rutgers scoring 14 in a half is already past what I penciled in for them. D. Lonergan connecting with K.J. Duff and E. Coke for touchdowns is not something the numbers suggested was coming.

41-17

I said USC has the pedigree and program depth and I stand by that for the second half. But I also said 45-14 and Rutgers already has 14, so the final number is going to need some adjusting from me.

45-14

@jonesy @dtownz @trace @bigdaddy you all told me to go home on this pick, and right now Rutgers is six points away from the upset at halftime. I am not saying I am right yet, but I am saying do not touch that dial.

31-28

Jayden Maiava has a 52-yard touchdown pass already and King Miller punched one in on the ground. USC has the horses, and this defense will tighten up. Twenty to fourteen is a halftime score, not a final.