Looking at USC's 2026 road trips from a fan perspective

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On Tuesday, the Big Ten released USC’s 2026 conference schedule. We now know where and when the Trojans‘ matchups will take place next season.

In 2026, USC will play seven home games and five away games. Which road trips should fans be most excited about? Let’s take a look:

Rutgers (September 19):

This is probably the least attractive road trip of the season on paper. The Trojans should be solid favorites in this game, and Rutgers is not known for having a stadium atmosphere that is anything special.

The biggest thing that this trip has going for it is that Rutgers is fairly easy to get to, being located less than an hour away from both Newark Airport and New York City. So if you were ever looking to combine a New York trip with a USC road game, this is your opportunity.

Penn State (October 10)

In terms of Big Ten road trips, this is about as good as it gets. Penn State has both an elite stadium atmosphere and a great college town and this will be a massive game that could very well define USC’s season. Early October is also a great time to travel there before the weather gets too cold.

The biggest challenge with this trip, however, is that Happy Valley is notorious for being located in the middle of nowhere and extremely difficult to get to.

Wisconsin (October 24)

While expectations for Wisconsin in 2026 are not super high, Madison is known for being one of the best college towns in the country. Camp Randall Stadium generally has a great game day atmosphere, too, with “Jump Around” being one of the most iconic traditions in all of college football.

Once again, the biggest drawback is getting there. While Madison is not nearly as isolated as Happy Valley, there are no airports in the state of Wisconsin with regular direct flights from Los Angeles.

Indiana (November 14)

This is a much easier logistical trip than the prior two, with Indiana playing its home games less than an hour from Indianapolis. Bloomington is also a great college town, and the stadium atmosphere—while certainly not Penn State—has improved a ton with the Hoosiers’ rise under Curt Cignetti the past two seasons.

There are two main questions that USC fans should ask themselves before making this trip, however. Number one, are you prepared to fly more than halfway across the country to watch the Trojans potentially get blown out by the defending national champions? And number two, are you built to handle the potentially frigid weather that is often seen in Indiana in November?

UCLA (November 28)

USC’s final “away” game of the season cannot even be classified as a true road trip. The biggest question surrounding this game: Will it be played at the Rose Bowl or SoFi Stadium?

This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Looking at USC football’s 2026 road trips for fans

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