USC has been part of some of the biggest games on the college football schedule so far this season -- the season opener spotlight vs. LSU, the showdown at Michigan, hosting a top-5 Penn State team last weekend.

This is not one of those.

The reeling Trojans (3-3, 1-3 Big Ten) visit reeling Maryland (3-3, 0-3) in College Park, Maryland, on Saturday badly in need of a win and a shift in narrative after blowing fourth quarter leads in three of the last four games, including the stinging 33-30 overtime loss to the Nittany Lions last week.

"Just go out and win. We've got to win. It's no beating around the bush -- we've got to win the game, we've got to come down to it, everybody's got to buy in so we can come out and excel," running back Woody Marks said this week.

That's the truth. Another loss this week and this truly becomes a lost season for the Trojans.

While USC has yet to win a true road game, the Terrapins don't exactly pose a daunting test even in their home stadium, where they lost 27-24 to Michigan State and 37-10 last week to Northwestern.

"Well, they're a good football team. Really well-coached. You look at this coaching staff, a lot of these guys have coached together for a long time, a lot of highly-accomplished guys that have really done a good job," USC coach Lincoln Riley said. "[Mike Locksley] is a really good coach, is a tremendous offensive coach, has been forever. They're very creative. They do a great job running the ball and then building their offense off of their run game and all the different things that they do, so they're a challenge there. Defensively, they return a lot of guys in the front 7, some really talented guys up front.

"And then you've got the obvious challenges of going on the road and all that that presents, so another Big Ten game on the road, another good football, another team coached by guys that have done it extraordinarily well at the highest level, so a lot of challenges ahead for us this week."

Let's take a closer look at the matchup ...

Who | USC (3-3, 1-3 Big Ten) at Maryland (3-3, 0-3)

Where | SECU Stadium, College Park, Maryland

When | 1 p.m. PT

TV | FS1 with FS1 Eric Collins and Robert Smith

Radio | ESPNLA 710 AM Radio with Pete Arbogast, Shaun Cody, Cody Kessler, Su’a Cravens, Jordan Moore, Jason Schwartz

Betting line | USC -7 (over/under 57)

Series history | USC and Maryland have never met on the football field. The Trojans have played in the state of Maryland two times: Oct. 21, 1950 vs. Navy at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore (L, 14-27) and Aug. 28, 2004 vs. Virginia Tech at FedEx Field in Landover (W, 24-13).

USC injury notes | Coach Lincoln Riley said tight end Lake McRee is nearing a return from the leg injury he sustained in Week 4 at Michigan, but it sounds like he might be a week away still.

"[Lake] is close. I don't know 100 percent that it'll be this week. I think it will either be this week or next week if he continues to progress and doesn't have any setbacks, which he's honestly a little bit ahead of where we hoped it would be after he got hurt up at Michigan," Riley said. "After that type of hit, you're thankful if he came back anytime this year, but he's such a grinder. It would be a bonus to have him this week. If we don't this week, I feel confident [he'll be back next week]."

Cornerback Jacobe Covington looked to be on track to return this week after sitting out last game.

Defensive end Anthony Lucas (leg) is out for the season and linebacker Eric Gentry announced this week he will redshirt the rest of the season after sustaining multiple concussions.

Maryland is 31-31 overall and 14-30 in the Big Ten in six seasons under head coach Mike Locksley, who previously served a stint as the program's interim head coach in 2015 before moving onto Alabama, where he eventually ascended to the offensive coordinator role.

The Terps have never had a winning season in the Big Ten since joining the conference in 2014, maxing out at 4-4 in that first season. They have finished with overall winning records the last three seasons, including 8-5 marks each of the past two years..

This season, Maryland has wins over UConn (50-7), Virginia (27-13 on the road) and FCS-level Villanova (38-20) while losing all three of its Big Ten games to Michigan State (27-24), Indiana (42-28 on the road) and Northwestern (37-10).

Maryland has the No. 13-ranked passing offense at 303.3 yards per game, led by junior quarterback Billy Edwards Jr., who has passed for 1,740 yards, 11 touchdowns and 3 interceptions in his first season as a starter. He's passed for at least 253 yards in every game with a high of 328 vs. Villanova.

Senior wide receiver Tai Felton is one of the most productive pass-catchers in the country with 55 catches for 719 yards and 5 touchdowns, ranking 4th nationally in both receptions and yards. Felton is the second Big Ten player over the past 25 seasons to have at least 700 receiving yards, 50 receptions and 5 receiving touchdowns through his team’s first six games of the season. The other was Michigan’s Braylon Edwards in 2004.

He's not the only productive target for Edwards, though. Wideout Kaden Prather has 34 catches for 350 yards and 3 TDs, and tight end Dylan Wade has 13 catches for 200 yards and 2 TDs.

Running back Roman Hemby is a proven weapon in the backfield with 360 rushing yards (4.9 YPC) and 3 TDs plus 92 yards and a TD receiving. He's in his third season as the Trojans' featured back, peaking at 989 rushing yards, 298 receiving yards and 11 total TDs in 2022.

The Terps have an entirely new offensive line this season with redshirt sophomore left tackle Andre Roye Jr., redshirt senior left guard Issac Bunyon (who moved from defense this offseason), redshirt junior center Josh Kaltenberger (a Purdue transfer), redshirt sophomore right guard Aliou Bah (a Georgia transfer) and junior right tackle Alan Herron (a Division II transfer). That group gave up 14 quarterback pressures and 2 sacks last week, with Roye yielding 4 of those pressures.

Maryland's defense has been most vulnerable against the pass, giving up 363 yards and 3 touchdowns through the air in a loss to Michigan State and 359 yards and 3 scores to Indiana before facing a ground-oriented Northwestern attack last week in its third conference game.

Senior Will linebacker Ruben Hyppolite II is a four-year starter and leads the team with 26 tackles and an interception while fellow linebacker Caleb Wheatland leads the Terps with 3 sacks to go with 21 tackles.

Redshirt senior safety Glendon Miller has been a breakout player for the Terps in the secondary. Seeing time at both safety and nickelback this season, Miller has 3 interceptions (tied for the team lead), 24 tackles (third on the team) and a fumble recovery.

The rest of the secondary is comprised of first-year starters.

Maryland has an experienced defensive line as redshirt senior defensive end Quashon Fuller (12 tackles, 1 sack), redshirt sophomore nose tackle Jordan Phillips and redshirt senior defensive tackle Tommy Akingbesote are all returning starters.

Notre Dame transfer punter Bryce McFerson has made an immediate impact for the Terps. His 45.8 punting average through six games ranks 10th among FBS punters and is the second-best mark in the Big Ten among punters with a minimum of 3.6 punts per game.

Kicker Jack Howes is 8 for 11 on field goals and 20 of 21 on extra points with a season-long 46-yard field goal.

Braeden Wisloski handles punt returns, averaging 8.4 per return with a long of 27 and also has the team's long kickoff return of 33 yards.