Big Ten Head Coach Names New Conference Contender That Could ‘Be A Factor’

Big Ten Conference media days continued on Wednesday as UCLA, Iowa, USC, Nebraska, Michigan State, and Penn State took the stage. UCLA head coach DeShaun Foster kicked things off and then came Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz.

With a few new additions to the Big Ten, the Hawkeyes head coach made a bold claim about the USC Trojans, even saying they could "be a factor" in 2024, per Matt Fortuna.

"They're gonna be a factor in our conference," Ferentz said of USC. "I'll go out on a limb and make that bold prediction that they'll be there when it's all said and done."

It's quite the comments and prediction from Ferentz, especially with Caleb Williams and several others leaving USC for the NFL.

What's also telling of this is the comments Ferentz made about USC back in December of last year.

Ferentz discussed those comments as well, but he made sure to say that USC could make some noise in 2024 in the new-look Big Ten Conference.

In 2023, Lincoln Riley's team finished 8-5, which was disappointing considering all the buzz and hype around the team. Defensive coordinator Alex Grinch got fired, sparking a much-needed change to improve on that side of the football as well.

As far as the Hawkeyes are concerned, they enter the season as one of the projected top-6 teams in the Big Ten, as does USC. In the latest USA Today Sports Network predictions , USC was 5th and Iowa was 6th, so it could be a fun race and battle between these two.

Iowa is coming off a 10-4 season and went through a long-awaited change at offensive coordinator, so they could be even better in 2024 with Cade McNamara throwing the ball.

Nonetheless, Ferentz is buying into USC in the Big Ten. The two schools unfortunately don't face each other in the regular season.

Related: Kirk Herbstreit Announces Major News For 2024 College Football Season