2017 USC Football Schedule: Noticeable Nuggets and Notes

The 2017 USC football schedule is out, featuring a noticeable lack of a bye week, no Washington Huskies and two marquee non-conference games against MAC champ Western Michigan and national power Texas.

After winning the 2017 Rose Bowl, the USC football team will enter this upcoming seasons with maximum expectations. They now have their schedule in hand, with it being released on Wednesday.

The noticeable observation? The lack of a national title contender. In 2016, USC played two teams that made College Football Playoff, the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide and the No. 4 Washington Huskies.

SEE MORE: 2017 USC Football Schedule Released

This is the first of two seasons in which USC will play Washington State instead of UW, a welcome trade for the Trojans, despite beating the Huskies 26-13 in Seattle last season. Meanwhile, they’ll open the season with MAC champion Western Michigan, fresh off the departure of hot-shot head coach PJ Fleck, who has departed for Minnesota.

All in all, it makes for a somewhat manageable run of 12 games, despite not having a bye week.

Here’s other notes from the 2017 USC football schedule: