2022 Week 1 Preview: Rice Owls @ USC Trojans

Game notes

Time and Date: Saturday, August 27 at 6:00 p.m. ET

Network: Pac-12 Network

Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum — Los Angeles, CA

Spread: USC (-32.5)

ESPN FPI: USC has 96.1% chance to win

All-time series: USC leads, 2-0

Last meeting: USC 24, Rice 0 — September 18, 1971

Current streak: USC, 2 (1948-71)

Setting the scene

The aura at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum just feels different this time around. USC completed perhaps the most impressive coaching hire of the past decade, snagging Lincoln Riley from his perennial College Football Playoff contender in Oklahoma to Pac-12 territory. Riley’s entrance concocted a palpable hype among Trojan faithful, hoping the new coach can resurrect…