Top 10 conference games on the 2024 Big Ten schedule

With the latest round of conference realignment and the dissolution of divisions in every power league, we’re in store for some crazy-good games in the 2024 season. 

The non-conference slate is littered with marquee matchups, but fans are in store for some fantastic new league games and several rivalries renewed. The SEC slate is so loaded this season that the Iron Bowl — which had an all-time finish in 2023 — just missed my Top 10 list for best conference games this season. 

The ACC didn’t feature quite as many awesome affairs, but it’s still a schedule with plenty of marquee matchups. The Big 12 has its share of great rivalry games and Top 25 showdowns this fall, too. 

Today, we circle back around to the Big Ten. With all the pressure and stakes around Ryan Day and ‘The Game,’ Ohio State vs. Michigan is the unquestioned No. 1 game in the Big Ten this fall. But what about the rest of the conference slate?

Here are my Top 10 Big Ten conference games in the 2024 season:

1. Michigan at Ohio State (Nov. 30)

This is the biggest layup of this entire series.

Ryan Day is 56-8 as the head coach of the Buckeyes, yet three consecutive losses to the Team Up North (who also won the Big Ten title all three seasons culminating in a national championship in 2023) has Ohio State’s head coach under immense pressure to snap the ugly skid. 

The Buckeyes could win the national title in 2024, but another loss to Michigan — especially this Wolverines team with a first-year head coach and a roster in transition — would still be held against Day, who otherwise has had a flawless 2024. Lose ‘The Game’ and not make (or win) the championship and who knows what’s in store for Day’s future at Ohio State — a rather unthinkable possibility considering all his other successes.

2. Ohio State at Oregon (Oct. 2)

While most programs struggle early in conference realignment, the Ducks have a chance to win the Big Ten in Year 1. Dan Lanning has assembled a squad capable of beating any team in the country — including maybe the top-ranked Buckeyes in mid-October. 

The two favorites could square off more than once next season. Oregon won at Ohio State three years ago, and now the Buckeyes hope to spur their own road upset in their first trip to Eugene in nearly 30 years. 

3. Ohio State at Penn State (Nov. 2)

Is this the year James Franklin gets the money off his back and starts winning an upset or two that spurs the Nittany Lions back to the Big Ten title game for the first time since 2016?

Franklin is (in)famously just 4-16 against Michigan and Ohio State. The Wolverines aren’t on the schedule this fall, but the Buckeyes are and it caps a very tricky three-week stretch for Penn State, which plays at USC and Wisconsin. Penn State has a playoff-caliber team, but we’ll find out if the Nittany Lions are more than that if they can finally unseat Ohio State atop the Big Ten standings.

4. Oregon at Michigan (Nov. 2)

How can Michigan’s most important Big Ten game not be against Ohio State? Well, the Wolverines will be playing with house-money in a rivalry showdown at the Shoe to end the 2024 season. All the pressure will be on Ryan Day to not lose four straight games to the Team Up North. 

But if Sherrone Moore is able to exceed expectations and return Michigan back to the Big Ten title game, winning at home against a Top 5 Oregon team could prove pivotal for tie-breaker situations. Both teams are eying a run to the CFP, and the early November matchup will be strength-on-strength with the Ducks’ high-octane offense against Michigan’s still-loaded defense.

5. USC at Michigan (Sept. 21)

The Trojans make their Big Ten debut in the Big House against the reigning national champs. Lincoln Riley’s team will have two weeks to prepare for the matchup, but USC’s toughness in the trenches will be tested by Michigan’s retooled offensive line and the best defensive tackle tandem (Mason Graham and Kenneth Grant) in the country. 

Both teams will have played monster non-conference games as underdogs (USC vs. LSU, Michigan vs. Texas), so depending on those outcomes, one of these teams could be staring at two losses before the calendar even flips to October. 

6. Michigan at Washington (Oct. 5)

While the Huskies are essentially a totally new-look team (20 of 22 starters must be replaced) with a new head coach to boot, the program would still like some sweet revenge over a Wolverines team that beat them in the national title game in January. 

Jedd Fisch has the fortune of easing into the 2024 slate, and there’s a strong chance his team is 4-1 or 5-0 before hosting the Wolverines in Husky Stadium. Considering all the changes within the program (new coach, AD, roster) in the last six months, beating Michigan (before a tough second-half stretch awaits) would be a welcomed sign for Fisch in Year 1.

7. Penn State at USC (Oct. 12)

In a classic Rose Bowl rematch, Penn State will make the cross-country trip with aim to prove its program exists on a different tier than USC in the new-look Big Ten. 

James Franklin has been fantastic the last few seasons winning all the games he’s supposed to, but this is one of those toss-up games where the Nittany Lions have fallen short too often. Can Franklin & Co., flip the script?

8. Nebraska at Iowa (Nov. 29)

The Hawkeyes have controlled the “Heroes Game” for the past decade, losing just twice since 2013. They squeezed out a 13-10 win on Black Friday last year, as Nebraska grabbed a loss through he jaws of victory with an interception with 16 seconds left in the fourth quarter — two plays after it had picked off Iowa with what looked like a play to win the game. 

Perhaps 5-star freshman Dylan Raiola can avoid a similar fate and lead Big Red to a victory on the road this fall. While the Big Ten West is no more, both of these teams should have two of the top defenses in the conference and both programs look capable of winning north of eight games in 2024.

9. Wisconsin at Iowa (Nov. 9)

The two Big Ten West rivals are now just plain ole conference rivals but the battle for the Heartland Trophy is both a very important game for Midwest bragging rights — and potential College Football Playoff ramifications. 

The Hawkeyes have beaten the Badgers three of the last four seasons, and with maybe the oldest and most experienced defense in the nation this year, they should remain a pain to play against (Wisconsin has been held to 10 or fewer points in its last three losses to Iowa). Outside of Ohio State, the Hawkeyes don’t play another surefire preseason Top 25 team. Continue handling business against the likes of Wisconsin, Nebraska and Minnesota and Kirk Ferentz’s team might be a playoff bid-thief in 2024.

10. UCLA at USC (Nov. 23)

While the Bruins are newcomers to the Big Ten, a Week 11 showdown with their crosstown rival Trojans is the biggest game for DeShaun Foster in his first season in charge of his alma mater. UCLA is not exactly setup for much success in 2024, and that has a lot to do with losing top-flight coordinator D’Anton Lynn and a trio of starters (defensive backs Kamari Ramsey and John Humphrey, wideout Kyle Ford) to USC. 

For a program likely flirting with bowl eligibility come late November, beating USC could determine UCLA’s postseason fate — and a win would be a massive statement for Foster’s team in Year 1.

Honorable Mention: Washington at Oregon, Wisconsin at USC, Penn State at Wisconsin