USC Trojans' Lincoln Riley Addresses Schedule Updates: Notre Dame, Missouri State

The USC Trojans announced on Wednesday they would be opening the 2025 season against the Missouri State Bears at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum after their home-and-home series against the Ole Miss Rebels was canceled in June. Coach Lincoln Riley discussed the future of the Trojans scheduling moving forward as members of the Big Ten conference.

Sep 7, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley reacts against the Utah State Aggies during the second quarter at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images / Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images

The USC Trojans announced on Wednesday they would be opening the 2025 season against the Missouri State Bears at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Aug. 30. The game will take place of a home-and-home series with the Ole Miss Rebels that was canceled in June. The Trojans will face Missouri State, Georgia Southern and travel to South Bend to take on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish for their non-conference schedule.

"This decision for Missouri State, obviously your kind of working on a short time frame so there's not just a million options," said Riley. "A lot of people's schedules are set, so you've got, of the options, we felt this was the best options when you look forward and what our schedule is going to be and what we already play in the non-conference. I think we'll learn a lot in the future in terms of how this 12-team playoff plays out, how these teams ultimately are selected ... I know our strength of schedule is not going to be an issue."

"We're going to try to balance it the best we can," Riley continued. "We're going to do what we feel like is the best thing for USC football and our teams and our opportunities to win championships, and we want to keep in mind certainly our traditions and things that have been important to this program for a long time."

Sep 7, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley reacts against the Utah State Aggies during the second quarter at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images / Jonathan Hui-Imagn Images

One game in question is the future of the Trojans annual rivalry with Notre Dame moving forward. The landscape of college football changed with conference realignment, eliminating some historic rivalries. USC and Notre Dame have met a total 94 times, dating all the way back to 1926.

The Oklahoma Sooners and Oklahoma State Cowboys played every season uninterrupted since 1910, but that series is being left in the Big 12 with Oklahoma moving to the SEC. Texas and Texas A&M who played every year from 1915 until 2011 was also left in the Big 12 when A&M made the move to the SEC, but that series will be renewed at this season with Texas making the jump to the SEC. UCLA and Cal played every year dating back to 1933, but with UCLA in the Big Ten and Stanford in the ACC that series is being left behind.

The Trojans are known for their rivalries with UCLA and Notre Dame, but Stanford is the programs oldest rivalry, having first played in 1905, that game will no longer exist. College football is changing and so are many of the rivalries that have existed for over a century.

As members of the Big Ten, USC will face a much tougher schedule than they have recent years. Having already played No. 10 Michigan and No. 13 LSU, the Trojans still have No. 7 Penn State on Oct. 12, 4-1 Nebraska, which could very much be a ranked matchup by the time they come to the Coliseum on Nov. 16 and No. 14 Notre Dame on Nov. 30. Certainly, a gauntlet the Trojans would like to avoid in the future.

In 2025, USC will travel to Oregon, Illinois and Nebraska, and host Michigan, Iowa and Michigan State as part of their in-conference schedule, in-addition to traveling to Notre Dame. In 2026, they face Ohio State, Oregon and Penn State in-conference.

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