Coming into this season, everybody and their brother inside the Notre Dame Football world knew that Notre Dame had to at worst split between the Miami and Texas A&M games in order to secure a playoff spot come December. They instead lost both games, which created a massive hole for the Irish to try to climb out of. Blame it on coaching, inexperience, scheme, whatever you want, but the fact remains, Notre Dame didn't get the job done against either of their two toughest oppone

The USC Trojans have been and continue to be one of the biggest perpetrators of this new era. After effectively destroying the Pac-12 and leaving Washington State and Oregon State out to dry, the Trojans have now successfully put a halt to the iconic Notre Dame-USC rivalry.

In an article released on Monday, December 22, Ross Dellenger reported that USC and Notre Dame officials failed to reach an agreement to extend their historic rivalry. The 2026 matchup would have been the 97th meeting in the series, one that has spanned nearly a century. The only times the two programs did not play were during a three-year hiatus in World War II and in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Photo via USC Athletics Everyone’s Biggest Question: Why? When USC decide

Many were hopeful that USC and Notre Dame would be able to reach a mutually agreeable solution to continue their storied rivalry prior to the 2026 season. Unfortunately, talks have broken down, with a disagreement on when the game was to be played at the forefront of the conversation. Now, the Irish have added BYU, a formidable BIG 12 title contender, in place of the Trojans. Photo by Notre Dame Athletics There had been plenty of rumblings surrounding this rivalry game and it