USC AD Jen Cohen addresses future Trojans' non-conference scheduling

In her most recent “State of Troy” update to the Trojan Family, USC Director of Athletics Jen Cohen issued statements on building alignment across the school, homecoming weekend, the Big Ten Enterprises and the Trojans’ future non-conference football scheduling.

It’s that final piece that will likely receive the most attention as it deals directly with the future of college football’s greatest intersectional rivalry, the annual USC – Notre Dame game.

“Our ultimate goal, one that we can all align with, is to compete for and win Big Ten and College Football Playoff championships,” Cohen said. “Playing nine games annually in the toughest conference in college football to qualify for a playoff for which future selection criteria remain uncertain, we have a limited number of strategic levers to pull in pursuit of that goal. “

The “when” of the USC – Notre Dame game has become the biggest talking point from the USC side of the equation. The Trojans clearly want the rivalry game to continue, but want the game to shift to the early part of the season rather than a mid-season game in South Bend and a home game to finish the season.

Cohen cited the fact that USC is the only team in the Big Ten that will play a non-conference road game after Week 4 in either of the past two seasons (the trip to Notre Dame in October of this year). And it is the only team to play a non-conference game against a non-Group of 5 team after Week 4 in either year as well. Cohen cited Ohio State’s 2024 non-conference scheduling, citing that the Buckeyes played all their non-conference games at home in Weeks 1-3.

“An additional road trip in the middle of conference play – without key players – may have stressed their roster beyond its limits or cost them a third defeat and eliminated them from playoff contention,” Cohen said. “Instead, they qualified despite two Big Ten losses.”

Cohen cited student-athlete health as a factor for wanting to play non-conference games early in the season.

“Intentionally making our road to the CFP significantly more difficult than our Big Ten peers does not align with our goal to win championships,” Cohen said. “That said, we want to play meaningful games, and we recognize USC’s unique position in college football history. USC is the only FBS program that has never played an FCS opponent. We embrace challenging matchups – they prepare us for conference play, excite our fan base, and grow our brand and revenues.”

According to Cohen, USC will move forward with a non-conference schedule that includes at least one Power 4 opponent each year.

“If that opponent is a rival with whom we share a long and storied tradition, all the better,” Cohen said.

That “longtime rival” is an umbrella under which Cal or Stanford could fit as well. But the goal for USC’s non-conference scheduling is clear.

“We want to play our non-conference opponents in the Coliseum as early as possible every year,” Coehn said. “Strategic scheduling is a key competitive advantage, and it is one we must align on. If we don’t, we will allow our rivals to leverage us against ourselves, and that can never happen. Trojans are fighters, and we must fight on, together.”

The non-conference scheduling portion of the message concluded:

“We are excited about a 2026 home schedule that features conference matchups against Ohio State, Oregon, Washington, and Maryland – as well as trips to Indiana, Penn State, Wisconsin, and Rutgers – and we look forward to sharing news on our non-conference football schedule in the near future.”