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. 3 – Minnesota Golden Gophers

On the surface, Minnesota might seem like an odd program to suggest Big Ten ouster. USC is 6-1-1 against the Golden Gophers all-time, including a 19-17 Trojans win in 2011. However, a trip to Minneapolis is a haul (1,932 miles), and Minnesota is freezing around the winter.

USC will play in Minneapolis on October 5, which is good. The temperature in the area was 63 degrees on October 5, 2023, and 73 degrees on the day in 2022. Temperatures inevitably drop before night game kickoffs, but anything above 50 degrees is manageable for Californians.

We hope Big Ten schedulers are as kind to the Trojans in future years. USC’s last 2024 regular season game outside the Pacific Time Zone is October 19 at Rutgers. We wonder if such a trend will remain in future years. If not, there’s potential for the Trojans to play the Gophers, in Minneapolis, in late-November.

Late-November in Minnesota often includes temperatures in the 30s. Such is not to imply USC football cannot hack a game in freezing temperatures. But we also won’t pretend like the cold doesn’t negatively impact a team from Los Angeles.

Read on to find out who the final two teams we think USC would eject from the Big Ten conference are.

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