On Wednesday, USC football officially released its 2025 schedule. When you look at the 2025 schedule, consider what USC had to deal with in 2024. The Trojans played LSU, Notre Dame, Penn State, Michigan, and Washington. They had to play seven straight weeks, from Sept. 21 at Michigan through Nov. 2 at Washington. They had to play during every weekend in October. They played Oct. 5 at Minnesota, Oct. 12 versus Penn State, Oct. 19 at Maryland, and the Friday game on Oct. 25 versus Rutgers. There were lots of details attached to the 2024 schedule which made life harder, not easier, for USC. Not getting a week of rest in the middle of the season, but instead getting weeks off which were too early (Sept. 14) and too late (Nov. 9), hurt the Trojans. USC had to play Penn State. USC had to play Michigan earlier in the season, whereas facing the Wolverines a few weeks later in the year might have given their offensive line a little more time to adjust.
We can go through the list of details which made the 2024 schedule harder for USC football. How many of those details carried over to 2025, and how many did not? That’s a good question to start with.
Here are several takeaways from the USC football slate for 2025:
Soft opening
USC’s first four games of the season are all extremely winnable. After opening up at home against Missouri State and Georgia Southern (welcome back, Clay Helton), the Trojans’ first Big Ten game will be on the road against a Purdue team that went 1-11 this year. They will then return home to face Michigan State, who has not been to a bowl game since 2021.
There is zero reason the Trojans should not start out 4-0. If they do not, it will be cause for serious concern.
Back-to-back blue bloods
USC’s toughest two-game stretch of the season will come in mid-October. The Trojans will host Michigan at the Coliseum on October 11, before traveling to face Notre Dame in South Bend on October 18.
This stretch could very well make-or-break USC’s season. If the Trojans were to drop both games, they would once again have multiple losses before Halloween, and would find themselves in a serious hole in the playoff race.
Mid-fall travel
Notre Dame is just one of three Midwestern road trips for the Trojans between September 27 and November 1. During that stretch, USC will also travel to both Illinois and Nebraska, with the Michigan game being the only home contest during that time.
The good news for the Trojans is that they will have two off weeks during that stretch, giving them some much-needed rest.
Home for November
Once again, the Trojans will not leave the West Coast after November 1. Three of USC’s final four contests are at home—however, the lone roadtrip is arguably the Trojans’ toughest game of the season: at Oregon on November 22.
If Trojans are still in contention in the Big Ten and College Football Playoff races then, the favorable stretch run will set them up well. USC had a similar setup this past season, but it did not matter, as the Trojans already had four losses by mid-October.
Thanskgiving crosstown showdown
In even years, USC traditionally hosts Notre Dame at the Coliseum on Thanksgiving weekend. In odd years, however, the Trojans travel to South Bend in mid-October, leaving the last weekend in November open for another rivalry game.
From 2009 through 2015, the crosstown showdown between USC and UCLA was played on Thanksgiving weekend at the Coliseum in odd years and the weekend prior at the Rose Bowl in even years. Since 2016, however, it has been played the weekend prior to Thanksgiving regardless. (With the exception of 2020, when the game was moved to December due to the COVID-shortened schedule.)
In 2025, however, the crosstown showdown will return to college football’s traditional rivalry weekend. USC will conclude its regular season by hosting UCLA at the Coliseum on November 29.
Midseason rest
In 2024, USC played seven straight weeks before getting a November weekend off and then returning against Nebraska on Nov. 16. This year, USC gets two weeks off in October. This team should be able to be fresh for the end of the season. Also, one of those two weeks off in October precedes the huge home game versus Michigan. This schedule really does line up better than 2025.
No Penn State
USC played Penn State last year. It does not play Penn State this year. That’s a plus.
No Ohio State
USC did not play Ohio State in 2024. The Trojans again avoid the Buckeyes in 2025. That’s impossible to ignore or overlook when evaluating this schedule.
At Oregon
This will be USC’s ultimate measuring-stick game. Can the Trojans defeat Dan Lanning and the program which has out-recruited Lincoln Riley? Winning this game would mean more than beating Notre Dame or Michigan. Obviously, USC will try to win all three, but if the Trojans had to pick one, this would carry more influence on the recruiting trail and in the transfer portal.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Key takeaways from USC football schedule release
