Enrolling early has become the new norm for high school prospects, and the USC Trojans have a majority of their recruiting class on campus. Defensive coordinator Gary Patterson spoke of the importance of the next several months for their development.

Ohio State will travel more than 4,000 miles during the regular season for only the second time in school history as its 2026 road slate includes USC, Texas, Nebraska and Iowa.

USC, looking to build off a 7-2 conference record in its second Big Ten season, hosts Oregon (Sat., Sept. 26) and Ohio State (Sat. Oct. 31) but visits Indiana (Sat., Nov. 14) and Penn State (Sat., Oct. 10).

Indiana, Michigan and USC are the most challenging matchups for the Scarlet Knights, who will entertain each of those preseason top-15s at SHI Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey. Rutgers has a favorable shot at getting off to a hot start in September against UMass, Boston College and Howard before reality sets in for Greg Schiano's team.

Ohio State’s full schedule for the 2026 season includes September games vs. Texas and Illinois, October games vs. Iowa, Indiana and USC and November games vs. Oregon and Michigan.

The Big Ten released Michigan’s full 2026 schedule, featuring four straight home games, a midseason bye, and a road finale at Ohio State.