When: Saturday, 12:30 p.m. PT

Where: SHI Stadium, Piscataway, New Jersey

TV/Radio: CBS (Ch. 2)/710 AM

Line: USC by 22½ points

USC: OUT: DT Jahkeem Stewart (foot), WR Trent Mosley (lower body), S Kendarius Reddick (undisclosed), LB Shaun Scott (undisclosed), LB Elijah Newby (undisclosed), S Madden Riordan (undisclosed), LS Dylan Black (undisclosed), LB Taylor “Taybo” Johnson (undisclosed), OL Kilian O’Connor (knee), WR Roderick Tezeno (undisclosed), TE Taniela Tupou (undisclosed), DT Brendan Cho (undisclosed); QUESTIONABLE: RB Deshonne Redeaux (undisclosed), LB Jadyn Walker (undisclosed).

Rutgers: OUT: DB Kevin Levy (undisclosed), DL Jayon Simon (undisclosed); DOUBTFUL: WR Dino Kaliakmanis (undisclosed); QUESTIONABLE: RB Antwan Raymond (undisclosed), LB Abram Wright (undisclosed), DL Malachi Davis (undisclosed), DB Mikey Munn (undisclosed); PROBABLE: QB Dylan Lonergan (undisclosed), OL Dantae Chin (undisclosed).

What’s at stake? Rutgers head coach Greg Schiano is on the hot seat and desperate for any sign of progress after the Scarlet Knights dropped their first two games against UMass and Boston College. USC is in a much more secure place after going 3-0 in its nonconference slate, but still needs to develop the depth required to persevere through a tough Big Ten schedule. The Trojans’ starters on both sides of the ball have proved to be dependable, and the second- and third-string players need to step up and close out the game.

Who’s better? USC is better top to bottom, and Rutgers is still figuring out what its identity will be this season. The Scarlet Knights are also still finding their ideal offensive line combination and have rotated quarterbacks between Dylan Lonergan and AJ Surace. Even though injuries might keep some significant Trojans contributors out of the game, they should still have more cohesiveness than Rutgers.

Matchup to watch: KJ Duff vs. USC’s defensive backfield. Duff is a big-bodied receiver with a wide catch radius that he’s used to haul in 17 passes for 333 yards in two games. The 6-foot-6, 225-pound junior will be the toughest receiver the Trojans’ defense has seen so far. USC has only three pass breakups and one interception this season and is limiting offenses to 174.3 passing yards a game.

USC wins if: This is the longest trip of the season for the Trojans, who don’t have another away game until Oct. 10’s Penn State matchup in Happy Valley. Having left Thursday will help the Trojans adjust to the time zone and, as long as they’re rested and ready, they’ll be ready to dominate Rutgers.

Prediction: USC 42, Rutgers 14. A road win to begin conference play gives the Trojans – especially the underclassmen – a major confidence boost.