USC sports news roundup: Darnold a tunnel captain, basketball schedule update, more

Here is your USC sports news update for October 11, 2024.

Sam Darnold to lead USC out of the tunnel vs. Penn State

Former USC quarterback Sam Darnold will be back in Los Angeles this weekend. The current Minnesota Vikings quarterback will be the team's tunnel captain on Saturday when the Trojans take on No. 4 Penn State.

Currently, Darnold is in the midst of a career renaissance. In his first year with the Vikings, he has led his team to a 5-0 record, best in the NFC.

Along the way, Darnold has thrown for 1,111 yards while completing 63.5% of his passes. He's thrown 11 TD passes with only four interceptions.

What is fascinating is that Darnold wasn't supposed to be Minnesota's starter this year. He was signed to be a veteran backup to rookie J.J. McCarthy from Michigan. However, a preseason meniscus tear caused McCarthy to miss the entire season and gave Darnold his shot to start once again.

Darnold has made the most of his opportunity and has played his way into early MVP consideration. Thus, it will be a triumphant return home to the Coliseum for the USC legend.

USC basketball television schedule announced

Though we already knew what the USC basketball team's conference schedule was, this week we learned the broadcast information for each game. Interestingly, 17 games will air on the Big Ten network, seven on Fox or FS1, five on B1G+, two on Peacock and two on truTV/Max.

USC volleyball falls in top-25 showdown

Wednesday, the No. 16 USC volleyball team suffered a tough defeat on the road at No. 11 Oregon. The Trojans were swept 25-18, 27-25, 25-19.

Still, a number of Trojans played well in defeat. For instance, Ally Batenhorst tied for match-high honors with 11 kills and added five digs. Equaling that total was Jadyn Livings who had had 11 kills, four digs, and three service aces.

The Trojans return to action at home against UCLA on Sunday. The game begins at 4:30 p.m. on the Big Ten network.

USC Soccer wins important road test

Thursday night, the No. 19 USC soccer team managed to survive a tough road test at Illinois. Picking up a 3-2 win, the Trojans remain unbeaten in Big Ten play and stay atop the conference standings.

Moving to 10-1-2 overall, they built up a 3-0 lead in the second half. However, the Illini scored two late goals to make the Trojans sweat.

USC's first goal came in the 9th minute off the foot of Maria Alagao. Maile Hayes doubled the lead just 25 seconds into the second half. Then, Faith George scored the winning goal in the 73rd minute.

Illinois would score two goals in the next five minutes but their comeback attempt fell short. That allowed the Trojans to pick up their third win in a row.

Next, USC will be on the pitch against Northwestern on Sunday at noon in Evanston, Illinois. That game can be seen on Big Ten+.