How the USC Trojans Have Fared Against Current Big Ten Programs

With USC set to join the Big Ten conference in time for the 2024 season, we took a look at how the Trojans have done historically against future conference opponents. There is only one Big Ten team against which USC does not have a winning record.

Illinois

USC leads the series 11-2

Most Recent Game: USC beat Illinois 49-17 in the 2008 Rose Bowl

Series History: Illinois won the first game against USC, all the way back in 1935. USC then won nine-straight games against Illinois before dropping a 14-13 decision to the Illini at the Coliseum in 1989. The Rose Bowl win in 2008 was a dominant performance by the Trojans. USC set a Rose Bowl record with 633 total yards of offense (Ohio State now holds the record with its 683 yards against Utah)

Indiana

USC leads the series 4-0

Most Recent Game: USC beat Indiana 28-7 at the Coliseum in 1982

Series History: The biggest game between these two programs was the 1968 Rose Bowl. USC tailback O.J. Simpson rushed for two touchdowns in a 14-3 win for the Trojans. That win, on the heels of the 21-20 “Game of the Century” win against then-No. 1 UCLA, made the 1967 USC Trojans the national champions.

Iowa

USC leads the series 7-3

Most Recent Game: Iowa posted a 39-24 win against USC in the 2019 Holiday Bowl

Series History: The Holiday Bowl win for the Hawkeyes stopped a six-game winning streak for the Trojans in this series. Iowa’s other two wins against USC came in 1950 and 1961. The 1961 win was a 35-34 victory for the No. 1 Iowa Hawkeyes over an eventual 4-5-1 USC team in the second year under head coach John McKay. The most memorable USC win over Iowa came in the 2003 Rose Bowl. The 38-17 win was Carson Palmer’s final performance in cardinal and gold and ushered in a dominant run of USC football.

Maryland

USC and Maryland have never played

Michigan

USC leads the series 6-4

Most Recent Game: USC beat Michigan 32-18 in the 2007 Rose Bowl.

Series History: Of the 10 times these two programs have met, just two have not been in the Rose Bowl. USC lost both of those, in 1957 and 1958. But has a 6-2 record against the Wolverines in the “Grandaddy of Them All.” Michigan’s wins came in the 1948 Rose Bowl (by a score not worth mentioning) and the 1989 Rose Bowl. There are few moments in USC’s 2002-2008 run more iconic than Mike Williams throwing a touchdown pass to Matt Leinart in the 2004 Rose Bowl, a 28-14 USC win over Michigan on the way to a national title.

Michigan State

The series is tied 4-4

Most Recent Game: Michigan State beat USC 17-16 in the 1990 John Hancock Bowl

Series History: USC hasn’t beaten Michigan State since 1978. The Spartans have won the last three games against the Trojans. In addition to the 1990 bowl game, USC lost to Michigan State twice during the 1987 season. USC dropped the season-opener in East Lansing by a score of 27-13. The teams then met in the 1988 Rose Bowl. USC committed five turnovers, including a fumble and interception in the final minutes as Michigan State came away with a 20-17 win.

Minnesota

USC leads the series 6-1-1

Most Recent Game: USC swept a home-and-home series with Minnesota in 2010 and 2011.

Series History: This series started out 1-1-1 as the programs traded wins in 1953 and 1955, then tied in 1965. USC posted win in 1968, 1979 and 1980 before the two more recent wins. In the 19-17 win over Minnesota at the Coliseum in 2011, wide receiver Robert Woods set a USC record with 17 receptions. That record still stands for the Trojans.

Nebraska

USC leads the series 3-0-1

Most Recent Game: USC beat Nebraska 45-42 in the 2014 Holiday Bowl.

Series History: USC posted win in 1969, 2006 and 2007 in addition to the bowl game win. The tie occurred in 1970. The 2007 game was a fun one for Trojan fans in Lincoln, Nebraska. USC rushed for 313 yards in a 49-31 win that was made to look closer than it was due to three late touchdowns by the Cornhuskers.

Northwestern

USC leads the series 5-0

Most Recent Game: USC beat Northwestern 41-32 in the 1996 Rose Bowl.

Series History: USC posted wins against Northwestern in 1952, 1954, 1968 and 1969 before meeting the Cinderella Wildcats in the 1996 Rose Bowl. USC wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson set a Rose Bowl record with 216 receiving yards on 12 catches. He caught two touchdown passes as USC put up 41 points against a Northwestern team that came into the game leading the nation in scoring defense.

Ohio State

USC leads the series 13-10-1

Most Recent Game: Ohio State beat USC 24-7 in the 2017 Cotton Bowl.

Series History: The Cotton Bowl win by Ohio State stopped a streak of seven wins in a row by USC in a series that has seen some tremendous matchups. These programs have met seven times in the Rose Bowl, with USC holding a 4-3 advantage there. USC fullback Sam Cunningham scoring four rushing touchdowns in the 1973 Rose Bowl might be the most iconic moment in the series from a Trojans’ point of view. A game-winning two-point converstion from Pat Haden to Shelton Diggs with two minutes remaining in the 1975 Rose Bowl ranks highly as well.

The 1969 Rose Bowl matched No. 1 Ohio State against No. 2 USC in an eventual Buckeye win. More recently, USC fans got to enjoy a 35-3 blowout of the No. 5 Buckeyes at the Coliseum in 2008. The Trojans also posted an 18-15 win the last time the visited Columbus as true freshman quarterback Matt Barkley led a game-winning touchdown drive with just over a minute remaining.

Penn State

USC leads the series 6-4

Most Recent Game: USC beat Penn State 52-49 in the 2017 Rose Bowl.

Series History: USC is 2-1 against Penn State in the Rose Bowl. The Trojans beat the No. 5 Nittany Lions in the Coliseum in 1991 in a 21-10 result that still doesn’t make a lot of sense. USC was coming off a loss to Memphis State and wound up going 3-8 that season. Penn State only lost to eventual national champion Miami the rest of the way and finished No. 3 in the country. USC holds a three-game winning streak in this rivalry, including two Rose Bowl games. The 52-49 win against Penn State, complete with the largest 4th quarter comeback in Rose Bowl history, was arguably the high point of the Clay Helton era with the Trojans.

Purdue

USC leads the series 3-1

Most Recent Game: USC beat Purdue 27-17 in the 1998 Pigskin Classic at the Coliseum.

Series History: The only Rose Bowl meeting between these two programs came in 1967. Purdue wound up with a 14-13 win when USC failed on a fourth-quarter two-point conversion. The 1998 game was held in brutally hot conditions. Band members, cheerleaders and fans fainted due to the heat and much of the crowd left before the end of the game.

Rutgers

USC and Rutgers have never played

Wisconsin

USC leads the series 6-1

Most Recent Game: Wisconsin beat USC by a score of 23-21 in the 2015 Holiday Bowl.

Series History: USC is 2-0 against Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl. That includes the 1963 edition, when Wisconsin nearly erased a 42-14 USC lead. Before the 2015 Holiday Bowl, the two programs hadn’t met since 1966. Wisconsin is one of just four existing Big Ten teams to have beaten USC in its last meeting with the Trojans.