BREAKING: Big Ten Sets USC-Oregon Kickoff for 4:30 p.m. PT Live on NBC and Peacock

The Big Ten Conference has locked in one of the West Coast’s biggest dates of the fall.

No. 11 (AP #!2) USC and No. 25 (AP #21) Oregon will kick off their conference opener Saturday, Sept. 26, at 4:30 p.m. PT inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The game will air live on NBC and stream on Peacock.

It is the first Big Ten meeting of the season for both programs — and the first time this year the two former Pac-12 powers will share a field as conference rivals with College Football Playoff implications already attached.

The 4:30 p.m. window keeps the game in the late-afternoon sun at the Coliseum rather than a night kick. NBC was already in Exposition Park for USC’s Week 0 opener against San José State. The network is back for the first ranked home game of Lincoln Riley’s 2026 season.

How both sides get here

USC (3-0) has been the more settled of the two. The Trojans opened with a 42-26 win over San José State, blanked Fresno State 39-0, and closed nonconference play with a 49-30 win over Louisiana. Jayden Maiava has the offense humming. Gary Patterson’s defense has given Riley something the program has been chasing for two years: a unit that can take a lead and keep it.

Oregon (1-1) arrives with far less margin. The Ducks dropped a 39-31 decision at Oklahoma State on Sept. 12, a result that sent them tumbling from the top 10 to No. 21 in the AP poll and No. 25 in the JPWest Media poll. Dan Lanning’s club still has the talent to reload. It just no longer has room for another loss if a third straight playoff berth is the standard.

Before they meet in Los Angeles, both teams have one more date. Oregon hosts Portland State on Friday, Sept. 18, at 7:30 p.m. PT on the Big Ten Network. USC opens Big Ten play on the road at Rutgers on Saturday, Sept. 19, at 12:30 p.m. PT on CBS.

A rivalry that still has teeth

USC leads the all-time series 38-24-2, but Oregon has owned the recent chapter. The Ducks have taken the last four meetings, including a 42-27 win last November in Eugene. Dante Moore threw for 257 yards in that game. Maiava answered with 306 yards and three touchdowns — and two interceptions.

USC’s last win in the series came in 2016 at the Coliseum.

That history is why this kickoff time matters. A 4:30 p.m. NBC window puts a ranked Trojans team and a wounded, still-dangerous Ducks roster in front of a national audience with the Big Ten race and the playoff bracket both in play. Beat Oregon at home, and USC can climb toward the top 10 with a statement. Lose, and Oregon punches a hole in the Coliseum’s early-season narrative and buys itself back into the conversation.

Tickets and gameday information are available through USCTrojans.com. The broadcast will be available over the air on NBC and via streaming on Peacock.

Game details

• No. 11 (AP #12) USC vs. No. 25 (AP #25) Oregon
• Saturday, Sept. 26 — 4:30 p.m. PT
• Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
• TV: NBC
• Stream: Peacock