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Does USC Have The Toughest 2021 Non-Conference Schedule In The Pac-12?

Evaluating why the Trojans three non-conference games will be more difficult than any other Pac-12 team in 2021.

Austin Grad

The 2021 Pac-12 football schedule has officially arrived, and the USC Trojans first game of the regular season is only 185 days away.

The Trojans will play nine Pac-12 teams and three programs outside the conference next fall. 

They will kick off the 2021 season with a week one matchup against a tough non-conference opponent in San Jose State at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. But the other two non-conference games could be even tougher.

USC will play Notre Dame on the road on October 23, and finish the regular season against BYU at home on November 27.

Of the 12 teams in the Pac-12 conference, nine of them will play against at least one FCS program. Other than USC, two other schools that will play all 12 games against FBS opponents are UCLA and Stanford.

- BREAKING IT DOWN -

No.1 San Jose State

San Jose State will be the Trojans first game, and it won't be a cake walk. The Spartans finished 2020 in first place in the Mountain West conference with a record of 7-1.

Their only loss was the teams bowl game against Ball State. As the one team USC will play that is not apart of the Power Five division, SJSU may be one of the best of the bunch. 

No.2 Notre Dame

USC will travel to Notre Dame to take on the Fighting Irish in what could be a full stadium by late October. 

Brian Kelly's team finished at the top of the ACC in 2020, and clinched the No.4 spot in the CFB Playoff ranks. 

Even though they lost to Alabama in the CFP, the 10-2 Irish only had one other loss on the season, and that was to Clemson in the ACC championship game. 

This classic rivalry will be a must watch game for the Trojans in 2021.

No.3 BYU

USC ends their regular 2021 season with a matchup against the BYU Cougars.

BYU finished the 2020 season with an 11-1 record while being ranked 11th in the final AP Top-25 poll. The Cougars only loss was to Coastal Carolina, who also finished 11-1 while being ranked 14th. BYU finished with a +338 point differential, which was the 2nd-best in the country last year behind Alabama. 

Both Notre Dame and BYU finished ranked ahead of USC in 2020, and they will likely be difficult opponents for Troy next season. 

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Two other schools in the Pac-12 conference who will face difficult non-conference opponents are Stanford and UCLA.

The Cardinal will play Vanderbilt, Kansas State and Notre Dame. While the Bruins have Hawaii, LSU and Fresno State.

Stanford will have a cake walk against Vandy, who was 0-9 last season. 

As for UCLA, LSU had a brutal year following their [2019] National Championship win, finishing with a 5-5 record. While Hawaii and Fresno State both finished well behind San Jose State in the Mountain West last year. 

However, based on the evidence given above, one could argue that the Trojans indeed have the toughest non-conference schedule in the Pac-12 next season. But these matchups don't bother USC head coach Clay Helton, in fact he is thrilled by the challenge. 

On the Pac-12 Network's live broadcast Helton said, ""You know, in today's College Football Playoff time, it's all about resumes. It's about your resume, resume, resume. And the ability to have, one, a nine-game conference schedule, like we play in the Pac-12, as well as to introduce San Jose State, BYU, [and] Notre Dame, three teams that at the end of the regular season last year were top 25 teams, you've got a great resume. Now it's about going to do your job." 

[Check Out The Trojans Official 2021 CFB Schedule HERE]

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Austin Grad
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