When will Purdue and IU football face Big Ten newcomers?
ROSEMONT, Ill. (WISH) — The Big Ten Conference announced on Thursday football conference opponents for teams from the 2024 season through the 2028 seasons.
Next year, the 2024 season, will be the first season with 18 teams and no divisional format.
Of course, it will also be the football season that Big Ten newcomers UCLA, USC, Oregon and Washington will be competing in the league.
The following schedule details were revealed in the conference’s official press release on Thursday:
“The 2024 Big Ten football season will debut the Flex Protect XVIII model, which features a combination of protected opponents and rotating opponents for universities. Each member institution will continue to play nine intraconference games per season, and teams will play every other conference opponent at least twice – once home and once away – and will play rotating opponents no more than three times in a five-year period.
Primary objectives considered included the following:
- Balance of annual travel by distance, regions of the conference, and time zones.
- Maintaining control and flexibility as the college football postseason format evolves, with the goal to create access for programs into an expanded College Football Playoff.
- Balance of historic competitiveness and recent competitive trends, including home/away balance of traditionally competitive schools.
Conference schedules will include 12 protected matchups that will continue to be played annually and feature a combination of historic and geographic rivalries, as well as trophy games. These matchups were finalized in conjunction with all 18 member institutions to ensure the traditions of the Big Ten Conference remain strong as the conference evolves.
The guaranteed annual protected matchups are Illinois-Northwestern, Illinois-Purdue, Indiana-Purdue, Iowa-Minnesota, Iowa-Nebraska, Iowa-Wisconsin, Maryland-Rutgers, Michigan-Michigan State, Michigan-Ohio State, Minnesota-Wisconsin, Oregon-Washington and UCLA-USC.
The 2024 season will conclude with the annual Big Ten Football Championship Game, which will feature the top two teams in the overall conference standings at the end of the regular season, with the winner earning the Big Ten Championship. Tiebreaking procedures will be announced later.”
The following are Purdue’s Big Ten opponents through the 2028 season:
2024 Home: Nebraska, Northwestern, Oregon, Penn State
2024 Away: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan State, Ohio State, Wisconsin
2025 Home: Illinois, Indiana, Ohio State, Rutgers, USC
2025 Away: Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern, Washington
2026 Home: Maryland, Minnesota, Washington, Wisconsin
2026 Away: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Penn State, UCLA
2027 Home: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan State, Penn State, UCLA
2027 Away: Maryland, Nebraska, Ohio State, Oregon
2028 Home: Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska, Northwestern
2028 Away: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan State, Rutgers, USC
Meanwhile, here are IU’s Big Ten opponents through the 2028 season:
2024 Home: Maryland, Michigan, Nebraska, Purdue, Washington
2024 Away: Michigan State, Northwestern, Ohio State, UCLA
2025 Home: Illinois, Michigan State, UCLA, Wisconsin
2025 Away: Iowa, Maryland, Oregon, Penn State, Purdue
2026 Home: Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State, Purdue, USC
2026 Away: Michigan, Nebraska, Rutgers, Washington
2027 Home: Iowa, Michigan, Penn State, Rutgers
2027 Away: Illinois, Michigan State, Minnesota, Purdue, USC
2028 Home: Illinois, Maryland, Oregon, Purdue, Washington
2028 Away: Northwestern, Penn State, UCLA, Wisconsin
Game dates for the 2024 Big Ten football season will be announced at a later date.