At first glance, the 2024 and ’25 Big Ten football schedules are a pure adrenaline rush of fresh excitement. Michigan playing USC in the L.A. Coliseum? UCLA coming to the Big House? Ohio State making a regular-season visit to the Rose Bowl? A division-less rotation of opponents that still preserves traditional rivalries?
Cool. Fun. New.
But let’s not forget the irrational foundation upon which this freshness is built. When it comes to the Los Angeles schools’ membership in the Big Ten, the geography still makes no sense. And the travel demands placed on the Trojans and Bruins will be a massive burden—in football and likely moreso in virtually every other sport.
