Big Ten Football Schedule 2024: Dates, schedule, how to watch, tickets and more
The Big Ten football schedule for 2024 is officially a massive, sprawling mess. Of course, the Big Ten will be an 18-team league in time for the 2024 college football season. Still, it's time to start wrangling with the schedule to get an idea of exactly what fans will get to see.
Here's an early breakdown of the Big Ten football schedule for 2024.
Big Ten football schedule 2024
What is the first college football game of 2024?
The Big Ten's season opener will be Thursday, Aug. 29, when North Carolina travels to Minnesota to face the Gophers' in the league's first game. The rest of the league will open on Saturday, Aug. 31, except for USC, whose opener against LSU will be nationally televised on Sept. 1.
Who has the toughest schedule in the Big Ten in 2024?
There's always some give and take on these matters, but USC looks like the early favorite for the toughest schedule in the Big Ten in 2024. The Trojans open with a neutral-field game against LSU. They also have to play at Michigan and Washington. Home games include Wisconsin, Penn State and Notre Dame. USC certainly has a brutal Big Ten football schedule.
Another solid nominee is UCLA. The Bruins will play at LSU, Penn State and Wisconsin. Home games include Iowa, Oregon and USC. New Bruins head coach DeShaun Foster will be out of the kitchen and into the skillet with an incredibly challenging Big Ten football schedule.
One final team to consider for the most brutal schedule is defending champion Michigan. The Wolverines do get eight home games, but those include matchups with Texas, USC and Oregon. Of their four road games, Michigan has to travel to both Washington and Ohio State. New UM coach Sherrone Moore will get a short honeymoon with such a brutal Big Ten football schedule.
Big Ten football tickets
Each individual school will sell Big Ten football tickets through their respective websites. Ticketmaster usually sells tickets for the Big Ten championship game as well. The schools often increase prices for particularly interesting or competitive matchups. For instance, at the time of writing, the cheapest pair of Ohio State/Michigan tickets listed on Ticketmaster were at $371 each.
Top Big Ten football matchups
The table above features a top matchup for each week of the season. That said, here are five particular games that could be massive in determining not just the conference standings, but the national College Football Playoff Picture.
LSU and USC play a neutral site matchup on Sunday, Sept. 1, to open the season for both teams. The game, played at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, will answer several early questions: How will LSU's follow-up to last year go? Are the Trojans ready for the grinder of the Big Ten after the comparatively easy Pac-12 schedules of the past?
Likewise, Week 2 has a pair of CFP teams from last season doing battle early. A year ago, Texas scored an early road win at Alabama that eventually springboarded the Longhorns into the Playoff. They're trying to replicate that feat by traveling to Michigan for a Sept. 7 matchup. Can Texas pull another big road win? How will Sherrone Moore do in his first big game as head coach?
Ohio State and Oregon are set for an Oct. 12 game that will be a massive road challenge for the Buckeyes. At this point, this looks like a 70-69 type of game, as two of the most explosive offenses in college football will face off in their first inter-conference battle. How will Oregon adapt to the Big Ten? Is Ohio State going to finally leap to the top of the Big Ten at the pivotal moment?
The Buckeyes are also on the road on Nov. 2 at Penn State. The Nittany Lions have been one of those "close but not quite" teams. Can they get over the hump and get a big home win against OSU? Or will the Buckeyes continue to roll or make up for a down effort against Oregon in October? This is one traditional Big Ten rivalry that will remain huge.
Speaking of which, one can't forget the annual rendition of "The Game". Yes, Ohio State vs. Michigan on the final week of the regular season has always been massive. It still will be so in 2024. With either or both teams likely in contention for the league title and a spot in the CFP, it might be worth those $371 ticket prices noted above.
Which Big Ten football schedule moments can't you wait to see? Weigh in with your thoughts in the comments section below.