USC Fans Facing Huge Rooting Interest Dilemma In the NFL This Weekend

After USC plays Illinois in their biggest game of the season yet on Saturday September 27, 2025, many Trojan fans will turn their attention to an NFL game between the Chicago Bears and Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday September 28. 

But they are facing a huge dilemma in choosing who to root for. 

The Bears (1-2) are quarterbacked by former USC quarterback and 2022 Heisman trophy winner Caleb Williams. But the Raiders (1-2) are coached by USC legend Pete Carroll and have two former Trojan cornerbacks, Isaiah Pola-Mao and Greedy Vance, on their 53-man roster. 

Both teams need a victory to stay in their respective divisional and wild card playoff races early in the season. 

So who should Trojan fans root for? 

Let’s break it down. 

The Case For The Las Vegas Raiders

The first reason USC fans could choose to root for the Raiders is just pure quantity. With Carroll, Pola-Mao and Vance, Las Vegas just has more Trojans on their side.

A wide breadth of USC history is also represented by the Raiders: the Pete Carroll era (Carroll himself), the Clay Helton era (Pola-Mao), and the Lincoln Riley era (Vance). Whichever of those three eras you are fondest of, the Raiders have a representative for you. 

Pete Carroll also needs the Raiders to be good, and fast. He’s the oldest head coach in NFL history at 74. He most likely has a lot less time to make a Super Bowl run before he retires than 23-year old Caleb Williams. 

Proximity could also factor in here. The Raiders are a West Coast team, just 4-5 hours away from Los Angeles by car. They are also a former Los Angeles franchise; they spent time in LA from 1982-1994. 

Chicago, on the other hand, is also 4-5 hours away from LA…by plane. 

For all of those reasons, the majority of Trojan fans will likely be siding with the Raiders on Sunday. But there are still plenty of reasons to root for the Bears. 

The Case For The Chicago Bears

This game, against the Raiders, may truly be a fork in the road of Caleb Williams’ young career. 

Williams is coming off arguably the best game of his young career against the Dallas Cowboys. He threw for 298 yards, 4 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. He also was not sacked a single time for the first time in his entire career. 

20 games into his young career, Caleb has had his moments, but has lacked the consistency necessary to be considered an NFL star. A back-to-back incredible performance against the Raiders, and a Bears win, could instill the kind of confidence in him to take his NFL career to the next level. 

If there are any USC fans who are also Los Angeles Rams fans who haven’t forgiven Tom Brady for beating the Rams in Super Bowl LIII, that’s another reason to root against the Raiders. Brady owns a minority stake in the Raiders. 

It’s a tough dilemma. Luckily, another big game for former Trojans is not so tough. The Tennessee Titans–Houston Texans game features 4 USC players and all of them are with Houston. 

The Texas have RB Woody Marks, CB Jaylin Smith, and S Calen Bullock on their active roster, with LB Solomyn Byrd also on their practice squad. 

The Texans need a win even more badly than the Raiders or Bears, they are 0-3 to start the season. So are the Titans. 

Trojan fans, who are you rooting for in the Bears-Raiders game? What other games are you watching around the NFL this Sunday? 

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This article was originally published on Heavy Sports

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