USC and UCLA are joining the Big Ten at the start of the 2024 college football season, and the Trojans will have one of the most difficult schedules in the country when they join the Midwest-based conference a year from now.
USC will reportedly face Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Penn State (road), Notre Dame and LSU (in Vegas) during its first Big Ten season.
Welcome to the Big Ten, Trojans. https://t.co/AboXDevW8n
— Ryan Kartje (@Ryan_Kartje) June 8, 2023
When news of the dramatic shift from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten was announced last year, it was seen as a shocking development. The idea that the Trojans and Bruins would no longer serve as the anchors of the Pac-12 seemed to be an idea that made no sense. The proposal has become reality and the Big Ten announced its schedule for the 2024 season and it's clear that USC is jumping into life in its new environment with both feet.
The conference did not announce dates for the schedule that will commence a year from September — or perhaps the last weekend in August — but the opponents have been determined.
The Trojans will face Michigan, Iowa and Wisconsin at the Coliseum in their first year in the Big Ten, and head coach Lincoln Riley's team will go on the road to face Penn State. The Trojans will also play traditional rival Notre Dame and meet SEC foe LSU in Las Vegas.
USC and UCLA will continue to meet on an every-year basis in the Big Ten. The conference announced that Michigan-Ohio State, Minnesota-Wisconsin, Indiana-Purdue, Michigan State-Michigan, Iowa-Minnesota, Illinois-Northwestern, Iowa-Nebraska, Maryland-Rutgers, Iowa-Wisconsin and Illinois-Purdue will join the Trojans and the Bruins as every-year Big Ten rivalries.
The conference will have 16 teams starting in 2024, and conference officials announced the Big Ten teams will all play a schedule model called “Flex Protect Plus,” and each conference matchup will take place at least twice in a four-year span.
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