Really awesome that USC will play Michigan in the Big Ten opener.
It’s been 17 years since Michigan last played Southern Cal in football, and more than half a century since the Trojans last visited Ann Arbor.
Both streaks are set to end this fall when the Wolverines, the defending College Football Playoff national champion and three-time defending Big Ten champ, host the league newcomer on Sept. 21 at Michigan Stadium (3:30 p.m. ET, CBS).
It’ll be the first Big Ten game of the season for both schools, and first ever for USC, whose head coach Lincoln Riley is admittedly looking forward to.
“I haven’t had a chance to coach in many Big Ten venues; just Ohio State my first year,” Riley, who got his head-coaching break at Oklahoma in 2017, told a group of reporters huddled for Day 2 of Big Ten Media Days. “We got to go there my second game, which was fun. This will be another fun one.”
More: Sound familiar? Ohio State believes it can top Michigan and win it all
USC is one of four schools to leave the Pac-12 Conference for the Big Ten this fall, creating an expanded, 18-team super league that also includes UCLA, Oregon and Washington. Michigan will play three of the four this fall (missing UCLA), while the Trojans have Big Ten powers Michigan and Penn State, in addition to their annual game against Notre Dame, on the schedule.
The last meeting between Michigan and USC came on Jan. 1, 2007, at the Rose Bowl, a game won by the Trojans, 32-18. In fact, eight of the 10 all-time games between the two schools have come at the iconic New Year’s Day bowl game, including the last seven.
The only game played in Ann Arbor was in 1958, a game Michigan won, 20-19. A year earlier, the two teams met in Los Angeles.
“The college football fan in me (thinks) it’s pretty damn cool USC and Michigan are opening up the new Big Ten,” Riley said. “To me, no surprise the Big Ten would pick those two schools and brands to kick this thing off. I think that’s awesome.
“It’s going to be cool to go compete against a really good football team. I’ve always like coaching on the road.”
Riley, who is set to enter his third season at Southern Cal, where he’s posted a 19-8 record, played for a Pac-12 championship and helped turn quarterback Caleb Williams into a Heisman Trophy winner and the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft, called it “the perfect way to be introduced to the Big Ten.”
