Recently, the Big Ten accepted two new schools into the conference: USC Trojans and UCLA Bruins. The move becomes official in time for the 2024 college football season.
A prestigious football program like USC joining the Big Ten will allow some annual matchups that we haven’t seen up to this point. However, this move will also see some premium matchups on a yearly basis. For instance, Ohio State and Southern California. Two teams that are familiar with each other. These two teams have met a total of 24 times. USC has the edge but Ohio State got the last laugh in 2017.
On3 Sports broke down the most anticipated matchups featuring the Big Ten’s newest teams. Where does Ohio State rank in this top five?
The Buckeyes-Trojans matchup checks in at No. 1 on the list for the new-look Big Ten.
What On3 Says…
Joshua A. Bickel/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK
USC leads the all-time series 13-10-1
Ohio State won the last matchup in 2017, 24-7 in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl
This one doesn’t take a whole lot of explanation. Simply put, this is two of college football’s most storied programs squaring off. A meeting between Ohio State and USC will also pit two of the game’s hottest young coaches, with both also known as terrific recruiters. That’s a setup for a fantastic college football game with star talent all over the field.
Then you layer on the history? Wow. These two behemoths have met in the Rose Bowl seven times previously, with USC holding a slim 4-3 edge in those prestigious games. The last three of those games were all decided by a field goal or less. The last meeting between the two programs came in the 2017 Cotton Bowl, with Urban Meyer’s Buckeyes topping Clay Helton’s Trojans 24-7. That was the Buckeyes’ first win in the series in 44 years.
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