Oct 5, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley looks on during the second half against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Huntington Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

CFB Analyst Labels USC Trojans as Winners during 2026 Big Ten schedule release

Originally posted on Gridiron Heroics
By Vincent Pensabene | Last updated Jan 29, 2026 11:56 PM ET

The USC Trojans had a successful 2025 season, finishing with a 9-4 record. With some changes happening with the coaching staff and roster, they are expected to take another step forward. The 2026 Big Ten schedule release came out and things looked a lot better than what they could have had. With road games against Indiana, Rutgers, and Wisconsin, when those games take place is important. Let’s take a closer look at how one college football analyst believes the program came out as a winner.

CFB Analyst Believes USC Trojans are winners for 2026 Big Ten schedule release

During Thursday’s Josh Pate’s College Football Show, Pate would describe why the USC Trojans have come out glowing once the 2026 Big Ten schedule was released:

“They only have one bad weather threat game. Which is what I was worried about. Because if you look at the USC schedule, we knew they had to go to Rutgers, we knew they had to go to Penn State, they had to go to Wisconsin, they had to go to Indiana. All of those could have been nightmare situations in late November. Well, only one of those games is in November and it’s mid-November, and that’s at Indiana. They play Rutgers in mid-September, so that’s fine, that’ll probably be comfortable. They go to Penn State in early October. They go to Wisconsin late October, which could be iffy, but it could be really iffy a month later.”

The USC Trojans are also expected to find a replacement game for their scheduled matchup against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. If they were to do so, they would be the only Big Ten program to play in Week 0, which would award them a second bye week to get a scheduling advantage. All of this is the reason why Josh Pate believes the USC Trojans are the winners of the Big Ten schedule release.

This article first appeared on Gridiron Heroics and was syndicated with permission.

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