New Rivalries That USC Trojans Formed Since Joining Big Ten

The College Football landscape has changed with the recent rise in conference realignment. New rivalries have been formed for many of the top college football programs, including the USC Trojans.

Since joining the Big Ten in 2024, the Trojans have struggled to adapt to their new conference and have had to overcome a brutal travel schedule. Over the course of the last two seasons in the Big Ten, the Trojans have even formed new rivalries that are bound to continue in the coming seasons.

With that being said, here’s a look at the new rivalries that the Trojans have formed since joining the Big Ten in 2024.

Michigan Wolverines

Before their move to the Big Ten, the Trojans and Michigan Wolverines faced off in the Rose Bowl on several occasions, providing college football fans with some extraordinary games. Now both members of the Big Ten, the two storied college football programs have faced off twice and have split the series.

In what was the Trojans' first-ever Big Ten game, the Wolverines welcomed USC to the conference in style, introducing coach Lincoln Riley’s group to the toughness and physicality of the Big Ten.

The Wolverines defeated the Trojans in a 27-24 win at the Big House, which featured former Michigan running back Kalel Mullings dominating the Trojans' rush defense, finishing with 159 yards and two touchdowns.

In 2025, the Trojans responded with a 31-13 win over the Wolverines at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. It was one of the Trojans' best wins of a 2025 season that featured them falling just short of the College Football Playoff with a 9-3 overall record.

Ohio State Buckeyes

While the Buckeyes and Trojans will meet for the first time as Big Ten members on Halloween at the Coliseum this season, the two have met on several previous occasions in the Rose Bowl and in the regular season in the late 2000s.

The two have also become rivals off the field on the recruiting trail, and since joining the Big Ten, the Trojans have been a tough team for the Buckeyes to compete with in recruiting. The Trojans finished with the No. 1-ranked 2026 recruiting class, while the Buckeyes capped off the cycle at No. 4 overall per 247Sports.

To make things even more heated, the Trojans flipped one of the top wide receiver recruits in the 2026 recruiting class, Kayden Dixon-Wyatt, from the Buckeyes. We’ll see if there’s some bad blood between the Trojans and Buckeyes in what should be a Halloween classic this fall at the Coliseum.

Penn State Nittany Lions

Similar to the Buckeyes, the Trojans and Nittany Lions will meet for the first time as Big Ten members this fall. Given that former defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn is now with the Nittany Lions following two seasons with the Trojans, a rivalry is likely to form between USC and Penn State.

The Oct. 10 matchup against the Nittany Lions on the road in a potential whiteout will be one of the biggest games on the Trojans' schedule and could determine USC’s hopes for the College Football Playoff. It’s a game that the Trojans must win.

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