Ohio State football has two new, real formidable foes

The Ohio State football program has dominated the Big Ten for the majority of the last two decades. They have won more Big Ten Championships than anyone else and have been the only program to win a national title in that span as well. No other Big Ten program has even competed for one.

Starting in 2024, it looks like the Buckeyes are going to have two new and very real challengers to their crown. No, I’m not talking about Michigan, Penn State, or Michigan State. They challenge them every once and a while and aren’t new challengers either.

I’m talking about the conference newcomers, USC and UCLA. Both are joining the conference in a couple of years as part of a new-look Big Ten. Both are also currently undefeated and are the Pac-12’s best hope of making the College Football Playoff in 2022.

We figured USC would be pretty good this season. Adding Lincoln Riley as head coach and Caleb Williams at quarterback was sure to make them better than they were last year. That offensive talent alone was going to help them be better.

What we didn’t expect was for UCLA to all of a sudden turn things around. Chip Kelly has his team playing some great football and showing that UCLA shouldn’t be an afterthought once they join the Big Ten. They could actually become a program of consequence in their new conference.

We don’t know how good either of these programs will be in two years. Riley’s track record suggests that the Trojans will still be pretty formidable. UCLA might be able to turn this season into more of a run for sustained success as well.

Either way, the way to the Big Ten Championship is getting harder for the Ohio State football team. If you didn’t know it before, you certainly know now.