Big Ten football fans should not be excited about USC and UCLA

Tonight, the University of Southern California (USC) faced off against the Utah Utes in a thrilling PAC-12 Championship game. If one thing has been made clear this year, it is that Big Ten football fans should not be excited for USC and UCLA to join the conference.

USC, UCLA reportedly joining Big Ten in 2024

Over the most recent offseason, the college football world was rocked with the news that USC and UCLA will be joining Big Ten football in 2024. This seemed to be a direct response to the SEC poaching Texas and Oklahoma from the Big 12 a season before.

Regardless of the reasoning, two schools that are hundreds of miles from the rest of the conference will be joining the Big Ten in two years. A state and city (Los Angeles, CA) known for sunshine and beaches will be forced into some of the toughest environments the sport has to offer, not to mention the freezing cold temperatures that the Midwest will throw at them.

Picture this: After playing in Columbus Week 7, USC must travel back home to face a hard-hitting Wisconsin team before flying back out east to play Penn State in the White Out.

This move will be hard on the athletes, and I am interested to see how things play out. This move is huge, especially considering the College Football Playoff will expand from four teams to 12 that same year.

No big deal?

At the time of the announcement, most Big Ten football fans shook it off. Sure, both USC and UCLA are huge market teams that used to be the standard in college football; however, that was a long time ago.

At the time of the announcement, USC was 4-8 overall, and UCLA was 8-4. No one was afraid of that.

Now, USC is 11-2  and should be just outside of the CFP race after this weekend’s loss. UCLA is not on that same level but played USC close en route to a 9-3 finish.

The Bruins may not be a Playoff team right now, but they are No. 17 in the nation and should get a decent bowl game this year.

USC is a good team despite PAC-12 Championship loss

Was the PAC-12 Title game pretty? No. USC took an early 17-3 lead, seemed to have all of the momentum in the world, yet allowed Utah back into the game.

By halftime USC’s 17-3 lead dwindled to a 17-17 tie. By the game’s end, Utah was laying on the gas and won by a score of 47-24.

USC’s loss was ugly, embarrassing, and soul-crushing for its fans. It also likely means that a second Big Ten team will make the CFP: Ohio State.

The biggest issue that the Trojans have right now appears to be tackling. If USC tackled like a DI football team tonight we would be singing Lincoln Riley’s praises. Unfortunately for the Trojans, they apparently forgot to play defense, and ultimately got run out of the building.

If USC tackles like that in the Big Ten, they’ll go 7-5 at best. Luckily for USC, they have another year to work on things. All I can say right now is good luck USC/UCLA, enjoy what you have left in the PAC-12 because Big Ten football is waiting for you in 2024.