Big Ten Football Schedule, Dates: USC Trojans Grueling Road Opponents, Intriguing Home Slate

The Big Ten football schedule and dates for 2025 are official. The USC Trojans will play five home games and four road games. The Trojans travel to face Illinois, Nebraska, Oregon and Purdue. USC hosts Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern and UCLA.

Nov 11, 2023; Eugene, Oregon, USA; USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley, left, and Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning talk before a game at Autzen Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images / Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

The USC Trojans' 2025 Big Ten Football schedule was released on Wednesday. The Trojans will be opening up their 2025 campaign on August 30th vs. the Missouri State Bears at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in non-conference play.

Trojans coach Lincoln Riley and his team will look to bounce back from a disappointing 6-6 2024 season.

Who all do the Trojans have on their schedule and when do they play them? Time to mark those calendars, USC fans!

Big Ten Conference Schedule Release

Sep 28, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; The Big Ten conference logo is seen before a game between the Wisconsin Badgers and the USC Trojans at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

USC 2025 Football Schedule

8/30 | Missouri St
9/6 | Georgia Southern
9/13 | @ Purdue
9/20 | Michigan St
9/27 | @ Illinois
*Bye*
10/11 | Michigan
10/18 | @ Notre Dame
*Bye*
11/1 | @ Nebraska
11/8 | Northwestern
11/15 | Iowa
11/22 | @ Oregon
11/29 | UCLA

Selected Saturday games in the 2025 season may be adjusted to select Fridays and other special dates, including Labor Day Sunday and Black Friday.

In non conference play, USC will start out by hosting Missouri State on August 30th and Georgia Southern on September 6th. The Trojans third non-conference game at Notre Dame will be later in the season, on October 18th. 

With the Big Ten having 18 teams and each only having nine conference games, teams will find themselves not matching up about half the league in a given season. Somehow, USC will not be slated to play Ohio State again after not matching up with them in 2024. So which Big Ten opponents do the Trojans play in 2025 that they didn’t in 2024?

Those teams would be the Illinois Fighting Illini, Oregon Ducks, Purdue Boilermakers, Iowa Hawkeyes, Michigan State Spartans, and Northwestern Wildcats.

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Trojans in For A Grueling Road Schedule  

Oct 19, 2024; College Park, Maryland, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley walks onto the field during the second half Maryland Terrapins at SECU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images / Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

The USC trojans will have their work cut out for them on the road next season. USC will be in enemy territory when they take on the Illinois Fighting Illini, Nebraska Cornhuskers, Oregon Ducks, Purdue Boilermakers on the road in Big Ten play.

The Oregon Ducks are coming off a Big Ten championship and are the No. 1 team in the country this season. They also have one of there most hostile atmospheres for visiting teams in Autzen Stadium.

Additionally, the Trojans will be on the road to play Illinois, who had a very impressive 9-3 season and are ranked No. 20 in the country. Even a team like Nebraska is no pushover. Just this year, the Cornhuskers gave the Trojans all they could handle when USC snuck out a 28-20 win at the Los Angeles Coliseum. 

In a non-conference rivalry game, USC travels to play Notre Dame. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish finished the 2024 regular 11-1 and earned a college football playoff berth. It is hard to see USC winning those games. 

The road haunted USC in 2024. The Trojans went 1-4 in road games, with one possession losses to Michigan, Minnesota, Maryland, and Washington. 

Will they be able to turn the tide in 2025?

In 2025, USC will face Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern and UCLA at home.

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