USC football 2024 schedule notes: biggest game, hinge-point game, and more

We’ll look at this schedule a lot in the offseason, but here’s a first glimpse with some early assessments.

When a new college football season schedule is revealed, we all have our opinions on what the biggest game is, what the pivotal game is, and which games should be easy, automatic wins. For USC football, it is no different. As we dive into the schedule for 2024 and the Trojans’ first season in the Big Ten Conference, there is plenty to discuss.

Which games fit into specific categories? Which games stand out for varying reasons? When all the different components of the schedule are broken apart and viewed individually, how do they compare to each other? Let’s talk about these topics in a first look at the USC football 2024 schedule:

USC 2024 Big Ten football schedule includes national champion Michigan, runner-up Washington

In 2024, USC’s #B1G schedule includes the two teams which played for the 2023 national championship.

The last Pac-12 football game has been played, at least in terms of a 12-team conference membership. Washington State and Oregon State will carry forth the name, but we know that’s not a full conference in any meaningful sense. The Washington-Michigan national championship game was the Pac-12’s true finale. Now Washington joins USC, Oregon, and UCLA in moving to the Big Ten for 2024.

Need USC’s Big Ten football schedule? We have it for you, plus — of course — the other really big nonconference games on the coming 2024 slate. USC might have the toughest single schedule in all of college football for the 2024 season. The Trojans will have to play the two teams which just competed for the national championship:

USC football 2024 schedule announced with all 12 game dates

This is a brutal schedule. Welcome to the #B1G leagues, USC.

We knew which 12 teams the USC Trojans would play in their 2024 football schedule, but now we have game dates as well as the opponents.

The Big Ten released its full schedule grid on Thursday afternoon, enabling USC and the other incoming Big Ten schools to plan their full season schedules. Washington, Oregon and UCLA join USC as new Big Ten football members next year. It’s a new world for the Trojans and the other Pac-12 teams making the switch to a new conference.

Meanwhile, Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah move to the Big 12 Conference in 2024. Stanford and Cal will go to the Atlantic Coast Conference. Oregon State and Washington State are still figuring out what to do. It will be a year unlike any other in college sports.

Here is the full 2024 USC football schedule, including the game dates and the weeks off for the Trojans:

USC football schedule: 2023 game predictions

Let’s pick some games! @Ducks_Wire and @BuffaloesWire writers joined us in predicting each W-L result for #USC this year.

The USC Trojans’ 2023 football season begins this weekend with a Week 0 matchup against San Jose State.

The expectations are through the roof for the Trojans, and they are a popular pick to win the Pac-12 and make the College Football Playoff.

Don Smalley and Zachary Neel of Ducks Wire, Jack Carlough of Buffaloes Wire, and Matt Zemek and Matt Wadleigh of Trojans Wire put together a round-table prediction for the season.

Here are the game-by-game picks for the USC Trojans, and there is a common theme: The Trojans are going to be really good this college football season.

2023 USC Trojans Football Schedule: Downloadable Smartphone Wallpaper

Never miss a game this season with our downloadable 2023 USC Trojans football schedule for your smartphone.

Never miss a game this season with our College Wire downloadable 2023 USC Trojans football schedule. Use as wallpaper for your lock screen on your smartphone.

Also, please share it with friends so they have the schedule with them at all times too!

You can buy tickets to every USC Trojans game at TicketSmarter.

Download the 2023 Trojans football schedule here

 

USC changes its 2024 nonconference football schedule

.@FBSchedules reports that #USC has replaced the San Jose State Week 2 game in 2024 with Utah State.

The USC Trojans have made a change to their 2024 nonconference football schedule.

The Trojans were originally scheduled to play San Jose State on September 7, 2024, in Week 2 of the season. They have replaced San Jose State with Utah State in that Week 2 slot, as reported by FBSchedules.com and site editor Kevin Kelley.

The FB Schedules report says that no decision has yet been made on how USC will handle the game with San Jose State. A reschedule to a future season and a cancellation are both under consideration.

The Utah State game — replacing the San Jose State slot in the 2024 schedule — is one week after USC’s huge Week 1 opener against LSU in Las Vegas. That LSU game will have major implications for the 2024 College Football Playoff race, given that the 2024 playoff will have a 12-team field. People will speculate why USC is swapping out one Mountain West school for another. It could be that the Trojans think Utah State will be an easier opponent next year when compared to San Jose State, but that is indeed speculation and not a hard fact.

Get your full — and revised — 2024 USC football schedule here.

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College GameDay options for the USC football schedule in 2023

One would think #USC will be part of at least one GameDay game this year, but which one? Let’s explore the schedule.

ESPN College GameDay selections are widely discussed every college football season. One of the central things to keep in mind about GameDay is that the picks depend in part on team results, and how they shape the significance of an individual game. If Team A is expected to contend for the national championship, but it loses in Week 5, that huge Week 9 game in late October won’t mean as much, and the GameDay calculus changes.

Our friends at Ducks Wire posted their best GameDay possibilities for Oregon.

The Ducks could be on GameDay for their Oct. 14 game at Washington.

Ducks Wire’s Zachary Neel wrote:

There aren’t a ton of ‘GameDay matchups’ in Week 7, other than USC and Notre Dame. However, a Pac-12 matchup between what should be a pair of undefeated teams — and massive rivals at that — is going to be must-see TV. I wouldn’t be shocked in GameDay chooses the Trojans and Fighting Irish, but Oregon and Washington will likely be one of the best games of the week.”

We will discuss that October 14 battle between USC and Oregon for a College GameDay slot, plus many other questions and debates, in the sections below:

USC football 2025 schedule, with all 12 opponents confirmed

Naturally, our first focus was on the 2024 #USC football schedule, but don’t worry: The 2025 list of opponents is also set:

The 2024 USC football schedule has plenty of big games. The Trojans host both Michigan and Wisconsin at the Los Angeles Coliseum. USC also hosts Notre Dame on Thanksgiving weekend. USC plays LSU in Week 1 in Las Vegas in a massive nonconference showdown. That will be the highlight of Labor Day weekend next year. There is so much to look forward to on the 2024 slate, and we’re all going to relish those huge games one year from now. However, there is also a 2025 schedule to consider. That schedule is also set, at least in terms of the 12 opponents USC will play.

The times and dates have not yet been announced for most of these games, but all 12 USC foes are locked in for the 2025 college football season.

Here is USC’s complete 2025 football schedule:

USC’s most important game in the 2024 football season is the first one

#USC plays Michigan, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Iowa, and UCLA in 2024, but the biggest game is the #LSU opener. We explain why.

We are writing a lot about the new Big Ten football schedule.

Every Big Ten team knows which opponents it will face in 2024 and 2025, and the home and road assignments are also known.

We wrote that “The Big Ten is also doing away with divisions, something the Pac-12 and ACC have recently done. The top two teams in the conference standings are the two teams which will play in the 2024 Big Ten Championship Game in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. The Big Ten has used a scheduling format called “flex protect plus,” in which not every team gets the same number of fixed annual opponents. Iowa has three fixed opponents — Nebraska, Minnesota, and Wisconsin — while USC has only one fixed opponent, the UCLA Bruins.”

We are looking at USC’s schedule and evaluating which games are especially important in 2024. We are going to come right out and say it: The season opener versus LSU in Las Vegas is the most important game for USC next year. Why, though? You’re probably wondering what would make us arrive at such a conclusion. We’ll explain below:

Twitter reaction to USC’s first-ever Big Ten football schedule

What a day. USC hosting Michigan and Ohio State visiting UCLA. It’s a #B1G day. Here’s how people reacted:

The first-ever USC Big Ten football schedule has been released.

The Trojans now know their full 2024 list of opponents.

It’s all very exciting, and it’s a glimpse into a very new and different future for the Men of Troy.

You will want to follow our new Big Ten College Wire partners: Cornhuskers Wire is one. You will want to check in on Cornhuskers Wire for extensive coverage of Nebraska football.

We also talked to Hawkeyes Wire about this new Big Ten schedule before it came out.

Badgers Wire caught the leaked details of the Big Ten schedule a few hours before the formal announcement on Thursday afternoon. There are so many reactions to gather. Here’s how the larger college football world reacted to USC’s first Big Ten football schedule: