The USC Trojans enter the Big Ten conference this year. The Trojans’ schedule starts off with a bang, as they play LSU on Sunday, September 1, 2024. Sports Illustrated rates USC’s 2024 schedule as the tenth hardest schedule in the country. Their initial in-conference opponent is defending national champion Michigan.
As USC prepares to face this daunting challenge, the team’s goal is to ascend back to the prominent stratum of enduring excellence it last inhabited before head coach Pete Carroll’s departure in 2010. Carroll’s departure, which was followed by controversial NCAA sanctions, wreaked havoc on the football program. In the words of former USC quarterback Matt Cassel, the Trojans are thinking playoffs, and “anything less than that will feel like it was a little bit of a letdown.” In USC’s quest to return to the pinnacle of college football, the team will rely on its sturdy roots, its highly regarded third-year head coach, a refortified defense, and a promising quarterback.
USC’s Impressive Historical Pedigree
Over the course of its illustrious history, the USC Trojans football program has amassed over 860 wins and ten national championships. The Trojans produced eight Heisman Trophy winners, including Reggie Bush. (No school has produced more.) USC is one of only two programs to produce more than 500 NFL draft picks; Notre Dame is the other.
Sports Illustrated rates the Trojans as the second most successful college football program of all time. Likewise, in 2009, ESPN.com rated USC football as the second most prestigious program in the county.
Additionally, ESPN.com rated USC’s undefeated 1972 team as the second greatest college football team of all time. That team went 12-0, finishing its season with a 42-17 blowout win over Ohio State in the Rose Bowl, and was the first team ever to be named No. 1 on every ballot cast in both the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll.
Thus, the Trojans have unparalleled historical credentials.
The Trojans and the Pac-12 Conference
The Trojans have a long history with the Pac-12 conference. In the first half of the 20th century, what is now known as the Pac-12 conference was called the Pacific Coast Conference. The Trojans joined the conference in 1922. Situated in Los Angeles, California, USC’s alignment with the Pac-12 conference made geographic sense. The twelve schools that comprised the conference are located in the Western United States, most in close proximity to the Pacific Seaboard.
USC won 37 Pac-12 championships, more than double the total of conference championships won by any other member of the conference.
Transition to the Big Ten
With USC, UCLA, Oregon, and Washington all joining the Big Ten, the conference will include a total of 18 teams, but will retain the Big Ten moniker. Although “Big Ten” is a mathematical misnomer, and although there have been proposed name changes, none have gained traction. “Big Ten” is a brand name with evident cachet.
Nomenclature aside, the conference is making structural changes. Implementing the Flex Protect XVIII model, the conference has eliminated the divisions by which it was bifurcated from 2011 until 2023. Pursuant to the model, each team will play nine in-conference games per season, and certain historical rivalries will be protected, while a balanced rotation of match-ups will be achieved over a five-year period. Thus, USC and UCLA will continue to play one another annually, as will Ohio State and Michigan. However teams that do not have historically protected rivalries with one another will play one another pursuant to a rotation designed to achieve symmetry and fairness over time.
Moving to the Big Ten will be lucrative for USC. (USC and UCLA will receive greater shares of Big Ten’s $1 billion annual media rights than Oregon and Washington will receive.) The Trojans will also face stiffer competition in Big Ten than they did in the Pac-12. Indeed, Big Ten teams have participated in the College Football Playoff (CFP) eight times, while Pac-12 teams only made two appearances in the CFP. Hence, the move to the Big Ten presents both greater challenges and greater opportunities for USC.
Head Coach Lincoln Riley Is Still Highly Regarded
Entering his third season at the helm, Lincoln Riley is rated among the top ten coaches in the country by The Athletic’s college football expert Bruce Feldman. Remarkably, Riley has coached three Heisman Trophy winning quarterbacks: Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray, and Caleb Williams. Thus, it is unsurprising that Riley is widely regarded as an offensive guru. Coach Riley is pleased that the Trojans are moving to the Big Ten.
The Trojans Shore Up Defensive Weakness
Defense was a major weakness for USC last season. However, the Trojans have now beefed up their defense. This past December, two defensive stars came to the Trojans by way of the transfer protocol. DL Nate Clifton from Vanderbilt and top-rated safety, Kamari Ramsey, transferred to USC The Ramsey transfer is quite intriguing, as he comes to the Trojans from the crosstown rival, UCLA.
Another major transfer to USC is linebacker Easton Mascarenas-Arnold. Last year, Mascarenas-Arnold played for Oregon State and was a first-team All-Pac-12 selection. USC needs to improve its linebacker performance. The addition of Mascarenas-Arnold is a big step in the right direction.
Miller Moss
With Caleb Williams entering the 2024 NFL Draft, Miller Moss is the presumed starting quarterback for the upcoming season. As a high school recruit, Moss turned down offers from Alabama, Michigan, and Penn State, and decided to become a Trojan. Although Williams leaves big shoes to fill, Moss provided more than a glimpse of his potential in the 2023 Holiday Bowl, where he passed for 372 yards and six touchdowns, as USC routed the Louisville Cardinals, who entered the game ranked No. 15 in the CFP rankings.
With Moss calling signals under Riley’s stewardship, and with a newly revamped defense, USC looks to reclaim former glory as the team begins play in the Big Ten.