The Big Ten Conference is now USC’s conference. The Trojans are setting up shop in the Midwest alongside three West Coast neighbors who are also making the transition from the Pac-12. In this transition year, how does Big Ten football stack up against other conferences in terms of strength of schedule? ESPN’s Football Power Index (FPI) is measuring strength of schedule across the power conferences. The Big Ten comes in second behind the SEC heading into the 2024 college football season.
College Sports Wire has more on this:
“It isn’t much of a surprise to see the SEC and Big Ten at the top of the rankings given the conferences are loaded with talent after the latest round of realignment. The SEC added the Oklahoma Sooners and Texas Longhorns, while the Big Ten added the Oregon Ducks, UCLA Bruins, USC Trojans, and Washington Huskies. With the SEC considering a nine-game league schedule, expect their rankings to remain among the toughest in college football.”
Notable is that Purdue has the toughest strength of schedule for any Big Ten team (No. 11 in the FBS), while Rutgers has it easiest (No. 78).
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