USC Football: Why Big Ten/Pac-12 Series Cancellation Is Good for Trojans

For those of you that were looking forward to a Pac-12 and Big Ten partnership, you can forget about it. The two conferences were planning on having a round-robin football schedule that would feature a total of 12 games a year and would have begun in 2017.

It is not happening.

"

We are disappointed to announce today that the Big Ten/Pac-12 strategic collaboration announced jointly in December 2011 unfortunately will not be consummated. Big Ten commissioner Jim Delany said in a statement. (Via ESPN)

We recently learned from Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott that the complications associated with coordinating a non-conference football schedule for 24 teams across two conferences proved to be too difficult. Those complications, among other things, included the Pac-12's nine-game conference schedule and previous non-conference commitments.

"

While this may be a disappointment to the fans on both sides, this is a nice little victory for the USC Trojans football program. With a college football playoff set to begin in 2014, the top four teams in the country will be picked to participate in the event. It would be extremely hard for the Trojans to be a top four team, especially if this deal had fallen through.

Now, USC is always going to remain a national title contender, especially with the way it recruits year in and year out. But playing the current schedule they have to play, with Oregon, Notre Dame and up-and-coming teams such as UCLA and Stanford isn't hard enough, the Trojans also have to take on the Texas Longhorns in 2017 and 2018.

Then, if you were to add a team such as Ohio State, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Nebraska or Michigan, you have yourself a brutal road ahead, and one that would likely result in a couple losses and a risk at not clinching a playoff berth.

Let's also remember that if powerhouses from the Pac-12 and Big Ten were to play each other, it could also result in a rematch during the Rose Bowl. Would anyone truly want to see a meeting between two teams that already played during the regular season? Sure, it could result in a great matchup, but the bowl games are supposed to be special, and seeing two teams play twice in a season isn't exactly thrilling. (See 2011 national championship.)

With things not going as planned, it gives the Trojans a little more wiggle room as far as the non-conference scheduling is concerned, and makes a playoff appearance a little more realistic in the years to come.