USC's 2024 football schedule is set -- and it is daunting

USC's 2024 football schedule -- its first as a member of the Big Ten -- is now set.

All those fears about the Trojans playing in snowy Midwest stadiums in November are abated at least for next season.

After opening its season Sept. 1 in Las Vegas against LSU and then hosting Utah State on Sept. 7 in the Coliseum, the Trojans have their first of two bye weeks -- all FBS teams have two byes in 2024, as the calendar lays out -- before opening conference play Sept. 21 at Michigan.

USC then hosts Wisconsin (Sept. 28), travels to Minnesota (Oct. 5) before the chill of winter sets in there, hosts Penn State (Oct. 12), visits Maryland (Oct. 19), hosts Rutgers (Oct. 26) and travels to Washington (Nov. 2).

Then comes the second bye week, before a closing stretch at home against Nebraska (Nov. 16), at UCLA (Nov. 23) and home against Notre Dame (Nov. 30) to close out the regular season.

Needless to say, the addition of the non-conference game with LSU -- which was announced back in 2021 -- along with the annual rivalry game with Notre Dame, on top of playing what could be three of the top handful of teams in the Big Ten next year (Michigan, Penn State and Washington), an always respectable Wisconsin program, improving Nebraska, Maryland and Rutgers programs, a capable Minnesota team on the road and a perennially competitive rivalry game with UCLA, etc., and the Trojans have one of the most daunting schedules in college football next fall.

In fact, every FBS team on their 2024 schedule presently has a winning record in 2023 with six of the 11 teams in the national rankings this week.

The Big Ten is using what it calls a "Flex Protect Plus" model, which features a combination of protected annual opponents along with a rotation of the other conference foes. Each school will play each other Big Ten school at least twice -- once home and once away -- in a five-year cycle. UCLA is USC's protected annual matchup.