How Far Will USC Trojans Travel Next College Football Season

Since joining the Big Ten in 2024, traveling for conference games has changed dramatically for the USC Trojans. And the 2026 season is set to be their most brutal travel schedule yet.

The Trojans will certainly rack up the air miles with a pair of trips to the East Coast, after making only one over the past couple of seasons. It's the new reality with conference realignment, especially in the Big Ten with several programs being on the opposite coasts of one another.

USC Trojans Travel Schedule Miles Lincoln Riley Hostile Road Environment Indiana Hoosiers Wisconsin Badgers Penn State — Sep 13, 2025; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley stands on the sidelines during the first quarter against the Purdue Boilermakers at Ross-Ade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images | Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

USC hits the road for the first time when they open up Big Ten play against Rutgers in week 3. The Trojans will travel 2,769 miles to New Jersey. It will be the Trojans longest distance traveled since joining the conference. They played at Maryland in 2024. It'll be the Southern Cal's first ever trip to Rutgers, with the two programs playing for the first time ever in 2024 at the Coliseum.

After playing back-to-back homes games against Oregon and Washington, USC makes another cross-country trip to Penn State on Oct. 10, that will be another 2,571 miles. There's a very good chance this matchup is the Nittany Lions annual "White Out" game under the lights.

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Southern Cal has the first of its two bye weeks in week 7, before traveling 1,973 miles to Camp Randall to face Wisconsin on Oct. 24. USC has not played at Wisconsin since 1965. And for the Trojans, the late October matchup could serve as a classic trap game, before they play Ohio State on Halloween in the first game between the two of the sports most storied programs as conference foes.

In what projects as their toughest road game, if not toughest game on the schedule, USC visits Indiana on Nov. 14, that's another 2,055 miles. It is their first trip to Bloomington since 1981. The Trojans are 4-0 all-time against the Hoosiers, but the team they see in mid-November will be vastly different than the ones they have seen in the past. Both teams have a bye week before this matchup.

And then USC closes out the regular season with a visit to the Rose Bowl in a matchup against crosstown rival UCLA. That game is just a mere 14 miles away for them.

Road Narrative under Lincoln Riley

If USC wants to change the narrative around the program under Lincoln Riley, a great place to start is winning tough road games in hostile environments and they will see their fair share of them in 2026.

USC has to be much better on the road, there's no sugarcoating it. They have won just two true road games outside the state of California since joining the Big Ten, with both coming last season against Purdue and Nebraska. If they want to be a true Big Ten and College Football Playoff contenders, this is the next step in the program.

The travel miles this season are not ideal, but no one wants to hear complaints because this is what the university signed up.

Road Narrative under Lincoln Riley

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