USC Has The Toughest Schedule In The Toughest Conference

Several polls pick the USC Trojans as having the toughest schedule in the Big 10, and after looking at it more closely, you may have to extend that to the most brutal set of games of any college team in the country. For years, there have been arguments over which conference provides the hardest schedule day in and day out, but this year, the Big 10 has a legitimate case and USC is at the top of that list.

The SEC Is Brutal, But…..

The SEC has boasted that they are the toughest conference that provided the toughest schedules, and it was hard to argue against that point with juggernauts like Alabama, Georgia, and LSU facing off. However, there was also legitimate criticism as many teams in the conference would regularly schedule “body bag” games.

It wasn’t that teams from the now defunct PAC 12 and the Big 10 did not do that too, but those games were generally early in the season, not the second to last game of the year. Essentially, while the Big 10 and PAC 12 were finishing their seasons with a series of smash-mouth football against conference rivals, SEC programs would habitually schedule teams like Mercer.

In addition, the SEC is sticking to an eight-game conference schedule, a move characterized as “lazy” by Chris Gordy on his Locked on SEC podcast. And now the Big 10, through its expanded roster of teams, has taken the mantle as the most brutal conference in the nation.

New Additions Mean Fewer Breaks

As USC, Oregon, Washington, and UCLA now join the Big 10, soft spots in the conference schedule will be harder to find. USC is a traditional blue-blood program and with the recruiting season they are having, it won’t be long until they are a playoff team again. Washington is coming off one of its best seasons, only falling to Michigan in the National Title game. Oregon is also entering the season highly ranked. Essentially, the Big 10 added three teams with legitimate playoff shots, and this means that the days of easy Saturday afternoon games against lesser conference opponents are all but over.

USC Starts With Tough Opener

Whereas many programs in the major four conferences open their seasons against small schools and even FCS opponents, the Trojans will have no such break as they will start their 2024 campaign against the LSU Tigers in Las Vegas on September 1st. LSU, who is ranked tenth in the country heading into the upcoming season by Sport Illustrated, is on a roll. Head coach Brian Kelly, after a 9-3 season, finally looks to have his system in place. This coupled with a banner recruiting year as was reported by Grid Iron Heroics Daniel Fisher, could make a serious run at the national title. Lincoln Riley could have hardly picked a more difficult opponent to open the 2024 campaign.

It Only Gets Harder

If opening up against LSU is not tough enough, the Trojans are slated to play the defending national champion Michigan Wolverines two weeks later in Ann Arbor. That will be followed by a contest against the preseason number 25-ranked Wisconsin Badgers the following week. So, three of the Trojan’s first four games will be played against expected ranked opponents, including two in the top 10.

But as the season continues it looks as if the Trojans are a glutton for punishment as USC will also have to play number seven ranked Penn State, the number 18 ranked Washington Huskies, and then finish their season against their national rival, the number five ranked Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. In all, six or half of all the Trojan games will be against ranked opponents with four of those games being against preseason top 10 teams.

USC Has Some Unknowns

After a subpar season by Trojan standards in 2023, Lincoln Riley has some unknowns going into the 2024 campaign, first and foremost will be at quarterback. With Caleb Williams heading to the NFL, Miller Moss will most likely be under center for the start of the season. Moss had a stellar game against Louisville, passing for six touchdowns in their Holiday Bowl victory, but he still has little playing experience.

The other unknown will be the USC defense. Last season the Trojan defense fell apart leading to the firing of defensive coordinator Alex Grinch. Riley, to his credit, made major changes, grabbing one of the best defensive minds in the country in D’Anton Lynn from cross-town rival UCLA. Lynn has had an immediate impact, putting together an impressive staff and attracting some of the best defensive recruits in the country according to The Athletic. However, as most coaches know, change is rarely immediate and whether they will be able to contain the powerhouse offenses they will see this year remains to be seen.