USC Trojans Football Schedule: USC Challenge for Big Ten Championship in 2025?

The USC Trojans 2024 season is over and it's time to look ahead to the 2025 schedule. USC has plenty of premier matchups for next season when they host Michigan and crosstown rival UCLA. They will also be on the road versus Oregon, Notre Dame and Nebraska.

Nov 30, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans wide receiver Ja'Kobi Lane (8) celebrates after scoring on a 6-yard touchdown reception against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the second half at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The USC Trojans 2024 season is over but its never too early to look ahead to the 2025 season. USC will enter year four of the Lincoln Riley era and after back-to-back disappointing seasons, the pressure to succeed is mounting.

The Trojans will open the season by hosting Missouri State on Aug. 30 and then Georgia Southern the following week at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Georgia Southern coach Clay Helton makes his return to Los Angeles where he began as the USC quarterbacks coach in 2010 under Lane Kiffin. He was promoted to offensive coordinator in 2013 and remained of the staff when Steve Sarkisian became the new head coach ahead of the 2014 season.

Helton eventually became the head coach in late November of 2015 when Sarkisian was fired. He lead the Trojans to a win over Penn State in the 2017 Rose Bowl and a Pac-12 Championship in the 2017 season. Helton lasted five full seasons at USC before being fired in September 2021.

Nov 30, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans wide receiver Ja'Kobi Lane (8) celebrates after scoring on a 6-yard touchdown reception against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the second half at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

USC will then travel to West Lafayette, Indiana, for the first time since 1976 to face Purdue in Week 4 and then return to home to host Michigan State. The Trojans have lost each of their last three matchups against the Spartans, their last win came in 1978.

They will be back on the road in Week 6 to face the Illinois in the first matchup between these two programs since USC routed the Fighting Illini 49-17 in the 2008 Rose Bowl. In a series that dates back to 1935, the Trojans leads 11-2. USC has not won a game in the central or eastern time zone since defeating Syracuse in 2012.

Following a bye in Week 7, the Trojans will be back at the Coliseum for their highly anticipated rematch against Michigan. The two storied programs battled it out in Ann Arbor this past season. The Trojans led by four late in the contest until Michigan running back Kalel Mullings' 1-yard touchdown run with 37 seconds remaining in regulation gave the Wolverines a 27-24 victory.

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USC will travel to South Bend for the 96th meeting against Notre Dame in Week 8. The Irish have dominated the series as of late, winning six of the last seven matchups, including a 49-35 win to close out the regular season. USC has not won in South Bend since 2011.

The Trojans will have their second bye week in late October and then be back on the road to face Nebraska on Nov. 1. USC defeated the Cornhuskers 28-20 at the Coliseum this past season when cornerback Greedy Vance intercepted quarterback Dylan Raiola in the end zone as time expired.

Northwestern then makes the trip out west in Week 11 to face USC for the first time since the 1996 Rose Bowl. USC leads the series 5-0.

The Trojans will host Iowa in Week 12. It will be the 11th all-time matchup between these two schools, with the first coming back in 1925. The last time they squared off, Iowa defeated USC 49-24 in the 2019 Holiday Bowl. They will travel up to Eugene to face west coast foe Oregon in the first matchup as members of the Big Ten conference. It will be the 63rd matchup between the Ducks and Trojans, with USC leading the series 38-23-2.

However, the Trojans have lost each of the last three matchups and five of the last six. USC has not won in Eugene since 2011. The Trojans will close out the regular season by hosting crosstown rival UCLA. It will be the 95th meeting in the "battle of LA". USC leads the series 51-34-7, two of their wins in 2004 and 2005 were vacated.

Nov 30, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans wide receiver Makai Lemon (6) catches the ball against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in the second half at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

With no Ohio State or Penn State, the Trojans have a favorable schedule in 2025. Still, the Trojans have to find a way to win on the road in conference play, something they were not able to do outside of the state of the California. USC has regressed in wins in each of Riley's three seasons, going from 11 wins in 2022, to eight in 2023 and seven in 2024.

The program hasn't achieved anywhere close to the success many envisioned in the NIL era and when they hired away Riley from Oklahoma. If USC is going to turn the program around under Riley, 2025 has to be the season to get it done.

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