Big Ten releases football schedule for 2024, highlighted by USC at Michigan

The Big Ten announced its football matchups for the next four seasons back at the start of October. On Thursday, it revealed the actual schedule for the 2024 season.

The league will welcome USC, UCLA, Oregon and Washington into the conference for the 2024 season, when it will become an 18-team league for the first time. 

It will also get rid of its current division format — instead of the winners of the East Division and West Division meeting in the championship game, the teams with the best records will play for the crown. Tiebreakers will be announced later.

Games are scheduled for Saturdays, but the conference said that some games could be moved to Fridays or other special dates, such as Labor Day.

Among the highlights on the schedule for the newcomers:

— UCLA will be the first school from the Pac-12 to play as a Big Ten member when the Bruins play host to Indiana at the Rose Bowl on Aug. 31.

— USC plays its first Big Ten game at Michigan on Sept. 21.

— Oregon’s first Big Ten game will be against a familiar foe, as the Ducks play at UCLA on Sept. 28.

— Washington plays host to Northwestern on Sept. 21 in its first Big Ten game.

Also notable: 

— Oregon vs. Washington has been set up as a protected rivalry game and is scheduled for Nov. 30 in Eugene, the same day as The Game between Ohio State and Michigan.

— USC and UCLA play on Nov. 23 at the Coliseum.

— No current Big Ten team has more than one trip to the West Coast, and Purdue has none.

— Of the Big Ten newcomers, only Washington has more than three trips out of the Pacific Time Zone, with four (at Rutgers, Iowa, Indiana and Penn State.

Last month, before the dates were set, FOX Sports’ Michael Cohen broke down how the Big Ten was formatting the schedule, what the protected rivalries were, who has the toughest (and easiest) schedule, and how it would all work.