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What else can you find in today's edition of The Three Torches?

🏈 Trojans set for their Big Ten debut
🏀 USC basketball sets its new conference schedule
⚔️ And much, much more!

📈 STOCK UP

🔼 Big Ten, Big House, Big Matchup. Coming off a week of rest and a dominant 48-0 victory over Utah State, Trojan football will return to the gridiron this weekend as USC takes on the defending national champion Michigan Wolverines in Ann Arbor, Mich. This will be USC's first visit to Ann Arbor in 66 years and just the second time ever. The Trojans are 6-4 all-time against Michigan and come into the matchup ranked No. 11 in the AP Poll. The game will be aired nationally on CBS at 12:30 p.m. PT, and fans without cable can stream the game live on Paramount+.

🔼 The Slates Are Set. Both USC basketball programs have their Big Ten Conference slate locked in place for 2024-25 with the conference's release of the full schedule.

🏀 The Women of Troy are set to host a competitive lineup of Big Ten teams at Galen Center with a home-and-away series against crosstown rival UCLA on tap. The Trojans will face two programs — Illinois and Wisconsin — for the first time, while other matchups offer the first visits to Galen Center for several Big Ten foes such as Illinois, Michigan State and Ohio State, as well as the Trojans' first trips to several road venues. 

🏀 With first-year USC head coach Eric Musselman at the helm and 12 new scholarship players, the USC men's basketball program will set its course toward a successful showing when the 2024-25 season gets underway. Beginning with conference play on January 4, 2025, the Trojans will take on Michigan at home while other matchups include a home-and-home series with the crosstown rivals, UCLA, trips to Illinois, Purdue and Oregon, and a final home game against Washington.

🔼 Soccer. The No. 25-ranked USC women's soccer team picked up its second Big Ten win in as many games on Thursday night, taking down Purdue 1-0 thanks to an early goal from Faith George. The Women of Troy, who still have yet to play a home game, move to 6-1-1 overall and 2-0-0 in Big Ten play with the victory. It took just over four minutes into the game for USC to strike, getting a goal from George and assists from Kayla Colbert and Hannah Griffin to take the early lead on the road. Goalkeeper Laurence Gladu made three saves on the night to pick up the fourth shutout of the season and her sixth win overall.

🔼 More Opportunity. USC women's tennis continues its fall season this weekend as the Trojans head to Cary, N.C. for the ITA All-American Championships. Junior Emma Charney will lead the way for the Women of Troy coming off a striking semifinals finish in the Battle of the Bay tournament this past weekend. Seniors Grace Piper and Parker Fry will also be returning to Cary for the second straight season. Last year, the two paired up and stormed out to a three-match win streak in the double's tournament. Fry kicked off the 2024 season with a quarterfinals run in San Francisco last weekend, while Piper will take to the court for this first time this fall in Cary. 

🔼 Within Sight. USC men's golf hopes to build off its opening weekend victory as it competes in the 17-team tournament at the William H. Tucker Invitational. Senior Gavin Aurilla opened the season in career-defining fashion, setting his single-round career best (65) and posting his best career tournament finish (runner-up). Also included in this weekend’s lineup are Antonio Safa and Jack Jerge who recorded a pair of top-ten finishes at the Southern Dunes Invitational.

🔼 New Talent. USC men's tennis will send a trio of new players, graduate transfer Tristan Bradley and freshmen Niels Hoffmann and Connor Church, to their first tournament in a Trojan uniform as they compete in the Sherwood Invite. USC will learn a lot this weekend as three new players enter the fray and kick off the 2024-25 season for the Trojans. Bradley serves as the veteran player for the group as he is a DIII Champion from Bowdoin University. Hoffmann and Church will make their college debuts in this invite, as they were both named as Blue-Chip recruits coming into college.

Today’s Top Tier Performance presented by ARCO goes to USC women’s golfer, Catherine Park! The Trojan’s junior standout debuts as a Big Ten weekly award winner after claiming her fourth tournament title at the Leadership and Golf Invitational. The junior overcame a five-stroke differential in the final round as she tied for the individual title at eight-under-par.

Today’s trivia question is brought to you by Smart & Final. With more than 3,000 club-sized items and an assortment of quality, value-priced products, including farm-fresh produce, dairy, deli, meat and seafood, as well as grocery and household essentials. Smart & Final has your every need covered — all without a membership fee!

New Leagues. Many programs within USC Athletics are entering into Big Ten play, and this weekend, it is Trojan football’s turn for its debut in their bout against Michigan. It will be the sixth time USC has played its first game as a member of a new conference.

Our question today: what is USC football’s record in conference debut matchups?

Think you got it? Scroll down to the bottom of this email for the answer!

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📅 THE WEEKEND AHEAD

Friday, September 20
🤽‍♂️ Men’s Water Polo vs. UC Davis @ 3:30 p.m. in Berkeley, CA
🎾 Men’s Tennis @ Sherwood Invite in Thousand Oaks, CA
⛳️ Men’s Golf @ Tucker Invitational in Albuquerque, NM | Live Scoring
🏐 Volleyball vs. UNLV @ 7 p.m. in Los Angeles, CA | Tickets | BIG+

Saturday, September 21
🎾 Men’s Tennis @ Sherwood Invite in Thousand Oaks, CA
🎾 Men’s Tennis @ ITA All-American Championship in Tulsa, OK | Watch
🎾 Women’s Tennis @ ITA All-American Championship in Cary, NC | Watch
⛳️ Men’s Golf @ Tucker Invitational in Albuquerque, NM | Live Scoring
🤽‍♂️ Men’s Water Polo vs. Long Beach State @ 11:30 a.m. in Berkeley, CA | Watch
🏈 Football vs. Michigan @ 12:30 p.m. in Ann Arbor, MI | CBS | Listen
🤽‍♂️ Men’s Water Polo vs. Stanford @ 4:30 p.m. in Berkeley, CA | Watch
🏐 Volleyball vs. UC San Diego @ 7 p.m. in Los Angeles, CA | Tickets | BIG+

Sunday, September 22
🎾 Men’s Tennis @ Sherwood Invite in Thousand Oaks, CA
🎾 Men’s Tennis @ ITA All-American Championship in Tulsa, OK | Watch
🎾 Women’s Tennis @ ITA All-American Championship in Cary, NC | Watch
🤽‍♂️ Men’s Water Polo vs. TBD in Berkeley, CA | Watch
⚽️ Soccer vs. Indiana @ 9 a.m. in Bloomington, IN | BIG+
🥍 Lacrosse vs. Keio University @ 10 a.m. in Los Angeles, CA
🥍 Lacrosse vs. San Diego State @ 2 p.m. in Los Angeles, CA

⚔️Click here to view the full USC Trojan Athletics Calendar

🎉 TRIVIA ANSWER

Answer: 4-1!

The Trojans lost their first Pacific Coast Conference outing 12-0 to Cal in 1922 in the first football game played in the Rose Bowl stadium, but went on to win its next four conference debut games. USC won its first time out as a member of the Athletic Association of Western Universities (22-15 at Washington in 1959), Pacific-8 Conference (27-24 at Stanford in 1968), Pacific-10 Conference (37-10 at Oregon in 1978) and Pac-12 Conference (23-14 versus Utah in 2011 at home).

⚔️ Have a great weekend, everyone!