Can Michigan football form a rivalry with new Big Ten addition?

Michigan football has plenty of rivalry games on its schedule each fall — most notably, Michigan State and Ohio State are the teams to beat for the Wolverines. That being said, next year, the Big Ten conference will be adding two new programs: USC and UCLA, the PAC-12’s top brands, further bolstering the conference’s status in the world of college football. Given Michigan’s history against the USC Trojans in the past, facing off in many historical Rose Bowl games, could there be a new rivalry or trophy game brewing in the future?

A new Big Ten rivalry/trophy game between Michigan football and USC?

The Michigan Wolverines and USC Trojans are two of the most successful programs in the sport of college football. The Maize and Blue have faced off against the Trojans ten times historically, bosting a 4-6 overall record with a current three-game losing streak. In 2024, Michigan football will make the trip to Los Angeles to play USC during the Trojans’ inaugural Big Ten season.

Only twice in series history have either team held home-field advantage — 1957 and 1958 — and the Michigan Wolverines won both games. The other eight matchups were all in the Rose Bowl game; Michigan is 2-6 in postseason play against the Trojans.

The last time that Michigan football beat USC was in 1989 when Bo Schembechler’s final team downed the Trojans 22-14 in Pasadena, CA. Since then, USC has beaten the Michigan Wolverines three times: 1990, 2004, and 2007.

These two major college football programs appear to be a rivalry or trophy game in the making — they are two of the most storied and impressive teams in the sport, and future matchups are bound to have major Big Ten implications. With Michigan, Penn State, and Ohio State headlining the Big Ten’s best right now, expect Lincoln Riley and his Trojans to make a splash over the next few years, transitioning from the pass-heavy PAC-12 to the run-heavy Big Ten.

Michigan football has plenty of rivalries and trophy games on its schedule every season, but adding a blue-blood caliber program like USC to the mix could bring an exciting twist for both programs and the Big Ten conference as a whole.

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