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

Coming into this game, there was so much talk surrounding the rivalry between Notre Dame and USC. Would this be the last face-off between the two storied historic programs for the foreseeable future? With no contract extension agreed upon by either team, we may have seen the final game between these two, which would be awful in my opinion, as this is truly one of the greatest rivalries in all of sports, dating back to 1926.