Michigan State‘s football game at USC on September 27, 2025, has been slated for a late-night kickoff of 8 p.m. Pacific time, the Big Ten Conference announced Monday. The game will be televised on Fox.
The late start time presents a unique challenge for the spartans, requiring cross-country travel and adjustment to a significant time difference. MSU last played a late-night West Coast game in 2018, losing to Arizona State 16-13 in a 10:45 p.m. kickoff in Tempe. This matchup against the Trojans marks MSU’s first Big Ten contest against a Pac-12 program now within the conference.
The game holds added meaning as a homecoming for both MSU head coach Jonathan Smith, a native of Pasadena, California, and quarterback Aidan Chiles, who hails from Long Beach, California. USC will open Big Ten play the same day, facing Purdue at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS. MSU will host Youngstown State (2-0) at 3:30 p.m. ET on BTN in its final nonconference game before traveling to Los Angeles. The Spartans have a bye week following the USC game before visiting nebraska on October 4, with the kickoff time to be persistent.