There are so many notes and details to keep track of in the new 2024 Big Ten football schedule.
Iowa has three regular annual opponents: Minnesota, Nebraska, and Wisconsin.
Penn State, on the other hand, has zero protected games. USC’s only regular annual game in the Big Ten will be against UCLA.
The Big Ten Conference wants its schools to play the 15 other Big Ten schools at least once every two years, but without having too much long-distance travel. Teams in the Midwest are not going to fly to Los Angeles any more frequently than necessary.
Three Big Ten schools will be common opponents for both 2024 and 2025, but in 2026 and 2027, the common opponents will rotate instead of remaining in place from the 2024-2025 two-year plan. There’s a lot to keep track of.
Let’s take a break from deep schedule analysis and turn to something fun and enjoyable: exploring the 10 best matchups on the 2024 Big Ten schedule.
USC figures prominently in this discussion. See where Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, and Wisconsin fit into the picture.
Here is the entire Big Ten schedule for 2024. Let us examine the top 10 games for this slate below: