USC football: What will the Trojans schedule look like in the Big Ten?
In 2024, USC and UCLA will make the move to the Big Ten, which will give the conference 16 total teams. According to The Athletic, the conference will get rid of division play when the two LA schools join in favor of a singular scheduling unit.
The exact details on how the singular scheduling unit will work haven't been finalized yet, but here's the expected layout, per The Athletic.
"The easiest scheduling system is 3-6-6, where each school competes against three opponents annually and then faces the other 12 twice over a four-year period. Although many rivalries would extend for the next 100 years, the conference could shuffle some of the series every four years based on competitive reasons or prominence."
WHO WILL USC PLAY EVERY YEAR?
Based on the model above, USC would obviously continue to play UCLA every year. The two schools have met 90 times on the gridiron in their history — that rivalry won't go away.
The real fun begins trying to project out USC's other two annual opponents. Will USC's historic brand lead to one or two yearly marquee matchups? Will the fact that the Trojans are conference newbies mean they'll match up against teams without traditional conference rivals on an annual basis like Rutgers or Maryland?
Those are two fascinating questions.
Here's the list of teams that will be in the Big 10 in 2024:
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Maryland
- Michigan
- Michigan State
- Minnesota
- Nebraska
- Northwestern
- Ohio State
- Penn State
- Purdue
- Rutgers
- UCLA
- USC
- Wisconsin
Other than UCLA, which other two teams would you like to see USC play annually Trojans fans? There are certainly some potential mouth watering clashes on the horizon...
