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USC at Illinois selected for Big Noon Kickoff time slot

Erik-McKinneyby: Erik McKinney4 hours agoErikTMcKinney
USC HC Lincoln Riley
Kirby Lee | Imagn Images

Champaign, Illinois could be one of the focal points of college football in two weeks when the No. 25 USC Trojans (3-0, 1-0) visit to take on the No. 9 Illinois Fighting Illini (3-0, 0-0). That game has been selected for the Fox Big Noon Kickoff time slot. The game will kick at 11 am local time, which is a 9 am PT kick. It will air live on FOX.

Both teams will need to clear hurdles this Saturday in order to keep the hype sky-high for this matchup. Illinois would seem to have the much tougher task as the Illini visit No. 19 Indiana. That game should reveal plenty about an Illinois team that benefited from a Duke implosion in Durham and gimme games against Western Illinois and Western Michigan to open the season 3-0. USC will take on Michigan State in a continued ramp-up of the Trojans’ early-season schedule. Though, the Spartans will be dealing with some disadvantageous travel and kickoff time issues against the Trojans.

That kickoff time will be a huge change from the previous week for the Trojans. USC is scheduled to kick off this Saturday at 8pm PT against Michigan State.

USC’s last 9 am PT kickoff came during the 2023 season when the Trojans visited Colorado. That was a 10 am local time kick. The Trojans showed no ill effects of the early start time as they shot out to a 34-7 lead late in the second quarter. It all fell apart from there, however, as Colorado stormed back to cut the deficit to 48-41 late in the fourth. USC had to recover an onside kick with 1:43 remaining to officially close out the win.

USC also kicked off at 9 am PT in the Coliseum against Arizona State during the 2020 season. The Trojans trailed 27-14 in the fourth quarter before a wild rally over the final four minutes. USC scored on a 4th-and-13 touchdown pass from Kedon Slovis to Bru McCoy, recovered the ensuing onside kick, then scored the game-winning touchdown on a 4th-and-9 throw from Slovis to Drake London.

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Garry Paskwietz (1966-2019)

Garry Paskwietz was a pioneer in bringing team-specific sports coverage to the internet. He founded WeAreSC in 1998 and was an Emmy winner for his work with Fox Sports West. Always generous with his time, knowledge, and compassion, he touched the lives of countless USC and high school football fans.

Garry Paskwietz