USC and UCLA are each moving one football game up a day to join Fox’s Friday night lineup.
The Trojans will face Fresno State at 6 p.m. PT Friday, Sept. 4, at the Coliseum — only six days after they open the season at home against San Jose State on Aug. 29.
As part of the scheduling change, UCLA’s game against Illinois at the Rose Bowl will now be at 6 p.m. PT on Friday, Nov. 13.
The USC-Fresno State game will be a reunion for Bulldogs coach Matt Entz, a former Trojans assistant head coach for defense and linebackers coach.
USC has dominated its series against Mountain West Conference teams, going 37-1-1 (not counting two victories vacated because of NCAA penalties. The Trojans are 4-1 all time against Fresno State (not counting one victory vacated because of NCAA penalties).
USC’s game against Fresno State will be part of a home-heavy schedule that includes seven games at the Coliseum; the Trojans will also play San Jose State and Louisiana in the nonconference portion of their schedule before facing Big Ten Conference rivals Oregon, Washington, Ohio State and Maryland.
Illinois’ trip to face UCLA at the Rose Bowl will be the teams’ first meeting since the Fighting Illini defeated the Bruins, 20-14, in the 2011 Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl. Illinois has not played UCLA in Pasadena since the Bruins pulled out a 6-3 victory in 2003.
UCLA will play seven home games this season, starting with a nonconference game against San Diego State on Sept. 12. The Bruins will also play Nevada at home on Oct. 31 and host Big Ten opponents Purdue, Wisconsin, Michigan State and USC in addition to Illinois.