Week 9 2026 · Sat, 10/31, 7:30 PM EDT

Ohio State vs USC: 262K sq mi on the line

Ohio State puts its whole empire on the line: 262K sq mi across 369 counties in Iowa, Nebraska, Texas and 12 more states, home to 32.6M people. If USC wins, it takes all of it and becomes the 4th-largest empire. If Ohio State wins, nothing changes hands.

Ohio State

4th-largest empire · Big Ten

land: 262K sq mi; land
counties: 369; counties
people: 32.6M; people

Land at stake

Iowa 56K sq mi Nebraska 49K sq mi Texas 36K sq mi Oklahoma 30K sq mi Illinois 21K sq mi Colorado 20K sq mi

Biggest counties: Cook County, IL, Fulton County, GA, Denton County, TX, Gwinnett County, GA, Marion County, IN, DuPage County, IL

USC

No land · Big Ten

land: 0 sq mi; land
counties: 0; counties
people: 0; people

Win and take 262K sq mi: USC becomes the 4th-largest empire at 262K sq mi.

Ohio State and USC's land on the empire map going into the game. — The map going into the game, with both teams in color.

Week 9 empire map How conquests work