Feb. 26, 2026, 6:34 a.m. PT
While USC’s 2026 Big Ten schedule was officially announced last month, the Trojans still had one more nonconference game left to be determined. USC had made it clear that the plan was to play that game in Week Zero, but the opponent for the contest had yet to be revealed.
Well, we finally have the answer. On Wednesday, the Trojans announced that they will open their 2026 campaign against San Jose State at the Coliseum on August 29.
This will mark the seventh all-time meeting between USC and San Jose State. The Trojans are 6-0 in the previous six meetings, with all six coming since 1995. All of the meeting have been played at the Coliseum in either August or September.
Two of those meeting have come within the past five years. In 2021, Clay Helton picked up his final victory as USC’s head coach with a 30-7 victory over San Jose State. In 2023, the Trojans opened up Lincoln Riley’s second season with a 56-28 domination of the Spartans.
Of course, the reason that USC had this opening on its schedule was because the Trojans will sadly not be playing archrival Notre Dame this fall. While it will be great to be back in the Coliseum, a game against San Jose State is obviously not nearly as exciting as college football’s greatest intersectional rivalry.
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