Illinois vs. USC Football Game Time Released: Why It's an Important Factor

No. 25 USC (3-0) debuted in the AP Top 25 poll on Sunday, less than two weeks ahead of its matchup on the road at No. 9 Illinois (3-0). And on Monday, the game time of the Trojans-Illini matchup was announced: 11 a.m. Central Time. That's fantastic news for coach Bret Bielema and Illinois.

USC-Illinois on Sept. 27 will kick off at noon ET on FOX. pic.twitter.com/YJHkigzvm6
— Matt Fortuna (@Matt_Fortuna) September 15, 2025

Meanwhile, the early start will be one extra hurdle the Trojans will be forced to face as they seek to notch their first true resume-building win of 2025. Here’s why that may be such a tall task for USC – and why Illinois appears to have quite the upper hand heading into this contest:

USC’s struggles outside of its time zone in 2024

Sep 13, 2025; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley reacts during the first quarter against the Purdue Boilermakers at Ross-Ade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images | Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

Last year, in the Trojans’ inaugural season in the Big Ten, they were clearly affected by the long-distance traveling required for the majority of their road conference matchups.

In three games outside of the Pacific Time Zone, USC went 0-3, falling at Michigan, on the road against Minnesota, and then the anti-masterpiece: a 29-28 loss at Maryland, handing the Terrapins their only conference win of 2024.

Meanwhile, in its own time zone, USC went 5-3, falling only to a trio of tough foes in Penn State, Notre Dame and Washington (on the road).

USC hasn’t played an 11 a.m. CT game as a member of the Big Ten

To make matters worse, the Trojans have zero experience with an 11 a.m. CT kickoff in the Big Ten. Here are the kickoff times of their 2024 conference outings outside of the West Coast:

USC-Michigan (2:30 p.m. CT)
USC-Minnesota (6:30 p.m. CT)
USC-Maryland (3:00 p.m. CT)

This past Saturday, USC finally nabbed that ever-elusive non-PT road victory, at Purdue in a 33-17 win. But the Trojans weren’t forced to adjust their sleep schedules for a 5:45 p.m. CT kickoff. For the Illini game, kickoff will be at 9 a.m. PT.

With no game-day experience with an 11 a.m. CT Big Ten kickoff, USC is going to be entering uncharted territory on Sept. 27. And the Trojans’ 10 p.m. CT kickoff this Saturday against Michigan State certainly won’t aid in the process of preparing them for their Week 5 outing in Champaign.

At the end of the day, USC clearly has the offensive talent to make up for a lot of disadvantages. But because Illinois has the defensive firepower to match, a factor like an early kickoff time – which seems not to have favored the Trojans in the past – could help tilt the playing field. The degree of that tilt may determine which team inches a step closer to a College Football Playoff berth in Week 5.