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

The Big Ten Conference has locked in the next West Coast window on the national slate.

No. 12 USC will host Washington on Saturday, Oct. 3, 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 Homecoming and Reunion Weekend in Exposition Park — and it is the third time this fall the network has parked its trucks at the Coliseum for the Trojans.

NBC was already in town for Week 0 against San José State. The network is back this Saturday for Oregon. Seven days later it is back again for the Huskies. Three Coliseum dates on the peacock in five weeks is not a coincidence. It is the conference putting a 4-0 USC roster in front of a national audience on the weekend the alumni come home.

The 4:30 p.m. window keeps Homecoming in the late-afternoon sun rather than a night kick. Same slot as Oregon. Same network. Same building. Different opponent, and a different kind of problem.

How both sides get here

USC is 4-0 and 1-0 in the Big Ten after surviving Rutgers 42-35 on the road Saturday. The scoreboard said win. The tape said the defense still has work to do. Jayden Maiava kept the offense on schedule. King Miller ran for 102 yards. Prophet Brown took an interception 99 yards the other way. The Trojans left New Jersey unbeaten and with a ranked home date already circled.

Washington is 3-0 and still waiting on its first Big Ten snap. The Huskies beat Washington State 24-10 in the Apple Cup, squeezed Utah State 16-14, then put up 48 on Eastern Washington. Demond Williams Jr. threw for 373 yards and four touchdowns against the Eagles and was named one of the Manning Stars of the Week on Monday. Jedd Fisch’s club opens conference play at home against Minnesota this Saturday at 8 p.m. PT on FOX, then flies south.

That is the setup. USC has to get through Oregon first. Washington has to get through Minnesota first. Then the former Pac-12 rivals meet as Big Ten programs on Homecoming with the cameras already in the building.

A series Washington has owned lately

USC leads the all-time series 51-32-4. The recent chapter belongs to Seattle.

The Huskies have taken the last three meetings, including a 52-42 win the last time they walked into the Coliseum. Riley has not beaten Fisch. That part of the ledger is real, and it will be on the wall in the home locker room all week.

This is no longer a Pac-12 leftover. It is a October Big Ten game with playoff math attached. Beat Oregon and Washington at home in back-to-back NBC windows, and the Trojans walk into the Penn State trip on Oct. 10 — also on NBC — with a résumé that looks like the one this roster was built to post. Drop either one, and the middle of the schedule gets loud in a hurry. Penn State, Wisconsin, Ohio State, and Indiana are still sitting there.

Homecoming is supposed to feel like a celebration. The conference just made sure it also feels like a measuring stick.

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. 12 USC vs. Washington
• Saturday, Oct. 3 — 4:30 p.m. PT
• Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
• Homecoming / Reunion Weekend
• TV: NBC
• Stream: Peacock