USC Trojans Schedule New FBS Opponent For 2025 Opener

There has been a lot of talk about the USC Trojans future schedule, particularly its non-conference opponents. Many Power 4 schools (most notably in the SEC) will schedule relatively easy non-conference opponents as somewhat of “tune-up” games as preparation for a gauntlet conference schedule.

USC is different in the fact that every year one of their non-conference foes is rival and perennial Top 25 team, Notre Dame. No fan or lover of college football wants to see this historic rivalry end, but it does make the road for SC to go undefeated much tougher than many of their counterparts.

This year it was even more difficult as they opened the season on neutral turf against the LSU Tigers. While these games are great for the sport and for the viewing experience, as stated earlier, it does make it difficult to make it through a rigorous season.

Today, the athletic department has announced who the Trojans will be opening the 2025 season with, and it should be a much easier test.

USC Trojans Open 2025 Season Against Missouri State Bears

The Missouri State Bears will visit the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on August 30, 2025, to open the season.

Currently, Missouri State is in its final year in the Missouri Valley Football Conference (FCS), it will be joining Conference USA for the 2025-26 athletic season, making it an FBS program, and keeping the USC Trojans streak of playing FBS programs alive.

Related: NFL Draft Analyst Surprisingly Low On Miller Moss

For those who do not know, USC is the ONLY program in the country to never play an FCS opponent. So while the Bears are an easier opponent to open the season with than LSU, they keep their standard of only playing FBS schools.

Football coaching legend, Bobby Petrino had a small stint as the head coach of the Bears from 2020 to 2022. In his 3 seasons, the Bears made the FCS playoffs twice.

The current Bears team is 3-2 and coming off a victory over Youngstown State.

More must-reads:

• NFL Draft Analyst Surprisingly Low On USC Trojans QB Miller Moss
• What We Learned From USC Trojans Sloppy 38-21 Win Over Wisconsin Badgers
• USC Trojans Move Back Up In Latest AP Top 25 Poll