This week, what had been in the works for a while became official: The College Football Playoff is expanding to 24 teams beginning next year. And with it, that means 2026 will be the final season of conference championship games as we know them.
So how has USC fared in conference title games over the years? Let's take a look back at the Trojans' conference championship history.
2011
In 2011, USC won the Pac-12 South, but was ineligible for the league's inaugural championship game due to NCAA sanctions. Instead, Oregon and UCLA, two teams that the Trojans beat in the final two weeks of the regular season, played for the league title.
2015
Four years and four head coaches later, USC won the Pac-12 South again in 2015 and finally made its first conference championship
game. However, the Trojans lost 41-22 to Stanford.
2017
In 2017, USC and Stanford again met for the Pac-12 title. This time, the Trojans came out on top 31-28. To date, this remains USC's only conference championship since 2009.
2020
After playing just five regular season games during the bizarre 2020 season, USC faced Oregon for the Pac-12 title in an empty Coliseum. The Trojans suffered their first (and only) defeat of the year, however, falling 31-24.
2022
In head coach Lincoln Riley's first season, USC was looking to punch its ticket to the College Football Playoff with a Pac-12 Championship Game victory over Utah. The Trojans took 17-3 first half lead, before Utah finished the game on a 44-3 run to stun USC 47-24. The Trojans have not won more than nine games in a season since.
The Big Ten
USC has yet to make the Big Ten Championship Game since joining the conference in 2024. The Trojans could still potentially make it to Indianapolis this year, but would need to win out, get some help, and win a few tiebreakers.
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This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Looking at USC's history in conference championship games
