What 5 schools would USC football kick out of the Big Ten, if given the option?

The USC football is approaching its first season as a Big Ten member. As such, we’re speculating the five teams the Trojans would boot from the conference if given the choice.

By John Fye | Jun 24, 2024

Dec 30, 2015; San Diego, CA, USA; Southern California Trojans running back Ronald Jones II (25) is defended by Wisconsin Badgers cornerback Sojourn Shelton (8) during the 2015 Holiday Bowl at Qualcomm Stadium. Wisconsin defeated USC 23-21. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

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No. 5 – Maryland Terrapins

If given the option, we think the Maryland Terrapins would be the first program USC would oust from the Big Ten.

The distance between USC’s campus to Maryland’s is 2,673 miles. Indeed, Trojans will cross three time zones when they travel to games at the Terrapins’ home field. Such is not ideal for a Southern California school.

Nevertheless, USC will make the trip to Maryland ahead of their Saturday, October 19th matchup.

We’re sure Maryland isn’t looking forward to the long flight to Los Angeles, either. The Terps won’t make such a trip until the 2026 season. However, college basketball and baseball teams will soon find themselves inbound and outbound of both locations soon.

Aside from the travel implications, there’s an argument that Maryland is not a valuable Big Ten member. They don’t reside in a big market and none of their major sports programs have been competitive as of late. Thus, there’s a revenue implication regarding the Terps’ conference membership.

Maryland has fared well with Mike Locksley as head coach, winning at least seven games in their last three seasons. However, the Terps have yet to accomplish double-digit wins since 2002. Lucky for them, there’s a much worse team in the Big Ten that we think USC would give the boot.

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