USC football schedule for 2020 revealed: Trojans open with morning game

The Pac-12 finally released the third edition of the USC football schedule on Saturday.

Hopefully, the third time will be the charm for the USC football schedule in 2020.

The Pac-12 announced the new slate on Saturday, with the Trojans battling each of their five South Division rivals as planned.

As for USC’s North Division opponent? That’ll be the Washington State Cougars.

The 2020 USC football schedule

• Nov. 7 — Arizona State at 9:00 a.m.
• Nov. 14 — @ Arizona
• Nov. 21 — @ Utah
• Nov. 28 — Colorado
• Dec. 4 — Washington State [FRIDAY]
• Dec. 12 — @ UCLA
• Dec. 18 — TBD North opponent [FRIDAY]

The path to the Pac-12 title game on Dec. 18 is clear. The Trojans already knew there would be little wiggle room in the South with Utah looking to defend its division crown and ASU threatening to rise up the standings, not to mention UCLA as a coinflip in Chip Kelly’s third season.

If USC has any realistic hopes of challenging for a place in the College Football Playoff, there is only one acceptable outcome: 7-0.

How tough will it be to get there?

The Trojans will have to first make it through a tough opening game against ASU with the added wrinkle of a morning kickoff.

After that, the slate opens up in a favorable way. A road trip to Utah is the only truly tough matchup, but at least it’s not in December.

Getting Washington State in a transition year with Nick Rolovich is a huge advantage.

Now that a schedule is in place, USC can move full speed ahead to prepare for November.

The state of California just gave the official go-ahead for full team practices, allowing cohorts of 75 in outdoor settings to gather. The Trojans expect to begin training camp on Oct. 9, giving them a full four weeks of practice before the start of the campaign.

MORE: Five big questions for USC with the season back on

Finally, Todd Orlando and the defensive staff will be able to get hands-on with their players. Finally, Graham Harrell and Kedon Slovis will be able to get that exciting Air Raid offense going again. Finally, the 2020 season is starting to feel real.