USC Football’s 2026 Regular Season Schedule Released

Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley (left) poses with Spirit of Troy marching band director James Vogel (center) and mascot Tommy Trojan after the game against the UCLA Bruins at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on Nov 29, 2025.

The Big Ten released USC football’s 2026 regular season schedule on Tuesday. The Trojans are the only team in the conference to have two bye weeks this season.

USC just missed a College Football Playoffs berth last season following a loss to Oregon on Nov. 22. The Trojans went 9-4 overall and 7-2 in the Big Ten, with their conference losses being against the Oregon Ducks and Illinois Fighting Illini.

USC is entering the 2026 season with a stacked freshman class, which ranks No. 1 overall in the nation. Starting quarterback Jayden Maiava along with multiple other star players like running back Waymond Jordan are also returning to USC next season.

The Trojans will make their season debut at the LA Memorial Coliseum on Sept. 5 against Fresno State. Then, USC will be on the road to face crosstown rivals, UCLA, in the final regular season game.

USC will not be playing Notre Dame, which ends a nearly century-long non-conference rivalry matchup. The programs have gone head-to-head every season since 1926 except during 2020 and three years during World War II.

USC coach Lincoln Riley told reporters in December that the Trojans wanted to keep the rivalry game going next season and were willing to be flexible with scheduling of game against the Fighting Irish. However, Notre Dame ultimately scheduled a game against BYU in place of USC for 2026.

“We took Notre Dame at their word that they would play us anytime and anywhere,” Riley said, per ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg. “That proposal was rejected. Not only was it rejected, five minutes after we got the call, it was announced that they had scheduled another opponent [BYU], which I’ll give them credit. That might be the fastest scheduling act in college football history.”

USC is going into next season with Riley as the head coach and are looking to finally make the College Football Playoffs in 2026.