The USC Trojans and the Rice Owls will face off at 6 p.m. ET Sept. 3 at United Airlines Field at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to kick off their 2022 seasons. Last year was nothing to brag about for USC (4-8), so the squad is looking forward to a new start. Rice struggled last year, too, ending up 4-8.
A couple last-season defensive stats to keep an eye on: The Trojans ranked 22nd worst in the nation with respect to rushing touchdowns allowed last season, where the team gave up 28 (bottom 92%). The Owls experienced some struggles of their own as they were 18th worst when it came to touchdowns allowed last season, with the squad giving up 53 overall (bottom 93%). It's possible one of these Achilles' heels will wind up tripping the losing team up.
USC is the favorite in this one, with an expected 34.5-point (!) margin of victory. It would take nothing short of a miracle for Rice to pull off a win, but maybe they can at least keep USC from covering the spread.