Who could USC face off against every year outside of UCLA?
When USC and UCLA join the Big Ten in 2024, the conference is expected to do away with its football divisions and implement a new schedule model.
The Athletic laid out the anticipated changes:
“The easiest scheduling system is 3-6-6, where each school competes against three opponents annually and then faces the other 12 twice over a four-year period. Although many rivalries would extend for the next 100 years, the conference could shuffle some of the series every four years based on competitive reasons or prominence.”
So who could USC play every year outside of UCLA?
Earlier this week, CBS Sports writer Tom Fornelli tried to answer that question by predicting every annual Big Ten game. He settled on USC playing Michigan State and Northwestern yearly writing:
“I came upon the rivals for each following a simplistic plan. I didn’t want to overload either with more travel than they’ll already face, so for their other two rivals, I wanted to lean on teams that were more in the western half of the league. Hence, UCLA gets Nebraska and Illinois, while USC gets Northwestern and Michigan State.”
Fornelli thought an annual USC Michigan State rivalry works for an additional reason too…
By choosing Michigan State and Northwestern, USC would avoid playing Michigan and Ohio State in the same regular season. The same would be true for UCLA.
So what do you think Trojans fans? Would you be happy playing Michigan State and Northwestern every year? Let us know your thoughts on social media.
