← Matchups

USC

B1G · 3-0 · power +26.1 · #14
Our side · spreadUSC -24.5 our number USC -29.4 · 4.9 pts from the market our number starts from the opening line and is corrected -7.0 for this matchup by our data on both teams

Rutgers

B1G · 0-2 · power +1.6 · #154
Our side
SpreadUSC -24.5 ours USC -29.4
TotalUnder 57.5 ours 54.9
MoneylineUSC to win ours 11% · book 6%
Distance from the market 4.9 pts / -2.6 total a caution, not a signal
Projected score 42–13 USC – RUTG
2026-09-19 · 3:30 PM SHI Stadium · Piscataway, NJ B1G game Early season

The books 5 account books · tap any price — the ticket builds at that book

Book USC spreadRUTG spread OverUnder USC winRUTG win USC TT overUSC TT under RUTG TT overRUTG TT under
DraftKings
FanDuel
BetMGM
ESPN Bet
Caesars

The gold price is the best available on that side; a gold marks the side our number implies — a read, not a pick. TT is a team total — that team’s own points, not the game’s; columns are empty where no book hangs one. Send to book opens whichever book you tapped, not the one we would have picked. Prices are the books’ own.

Ours vs the market

SpreadUSC -29.4
the marketRutgers +24.5
Total54.9
the market57.5
Rutgers win11% vs 6%

Both percentages are Rutgers’s chance to win — ours, then the book’s with the vig removed, medianed across the books we track.

What the gap has been worth 10,740 games · 2016–2025

0–3 pts52.0%
3–750.2%
7–1449.3%
14+46.8%

How often the side we favoured covered, by how far our number sat from the market’s. Break-even at −110 is 52.4% — no bucket reaches it, and the rate falls as we disagree more. The further we sit from the market, the worse we have done.

Public vs booksbets vs money · Action Network captured 7 hr ago spread USC 63% bets · 83% money total Over 50% bets · 56% money ML USC 98% bets · 95% money
Series USC lead 1–0 · 1 meeting since 2024
2025 unit ranks — last completed season, from games actually played
Run game edge USC Trojans 207 ranks
USC Trojans #50 rush offense Rutgers Scarlet Knights #257 run defense
Pass game edge USC Trojans 227 ranks
USC Trojans #9 pass offense Rutgers Scarlet Knights #236 pass defense
Run game even 16 ranks apart
Rutgers Scarlet Knights #141 rush offense USC Trojans #157 run defense
Pass game even 5 ranks apart
Rutgers Scarlet Knights #80 pass offense USC Trojans #85 pass defense
USC Trojans Balanced · 52% run Ball-control Rutgers Scarlet Knights Balanced · 50% run Avg pace
Lincoln Riley · 90-28 · offense-minded Greg Schiano · 31-41 · offense-minded

Ranked by team-unit strength (rush & pass offense vs. run & pass defense) across all 265 D1 teams, not by individual players. Identity, tempo and unit strength are measured from the 2025 season.

The evidence 2025 production and power ratings · supporting the number above

Who carried each team in 2025
USC Trojans
WR Trent Mosley 13 rec · 255 yds · 4 TD #13 WR
QB Jayden Maiava 896 pass yds · 10 TD · 1 INT #7 QB
TE Mark Bowman 12 rec · 128 yds · 2 TD #10 TE
P Lachlan Carrigan 3 punts · 46.7 yd avg #8 P
Rutgers Scarlet Knights
WR KJ Duff 17 rec · 333 yds · 5 TD #1 WR
LB Moses Walker 9 tkl · 1.0 sacks · 1.0 TFL #129 LB
RB Antwan Raymond 176 rush yds · 4 rec #112 RB
DB Jesse Ofurie 11 tkl · 1 PD #538 DB

Top-rated players from last season, ranked within their position across D1. A grade measures what a player produced, and no 2026 game has been played yet — so this is who produced for these programs in 2025, not a claim about who is on the field this year.

Power breakdown
TeamPowerOffDefRank
USC TrojansB1G +26.1 +16.9 +9.2 #14
Rutgers Scarlet KnightsB1G +1.6 +3.2 -1.6 #154

Def is higher = better. The projection assumes a 2.4-pt home edge (0 at neutral sites).

Where the number comes from
USC offense vs Rutgers defense+18.5 pts
Rutgers offense vs USC defense-6.0 pts
Travel · context onlyAway team travels 2,426 mi

An efficiency adjustment from season-to-date EPA and success rate applies once teams have played enough games; before then it is 0 and the number is the power rating alone.

Situational spots are shown for context, not baked in: travel, altitude and rest were tested against 6,000+ games and the power and efficiency ratings already account for them. Adding them again would double-count.