On Monday, August 3rd, Notre Dame and USC announced the renewal of the historic Jeweled Shillelagh trophy after the talks had fizzled out this past offseason. The Trojan Athletic Department had pushed heavily for a late-season matchup against the Irish, as a USC win would likely fare better in the playoff race. However, Notre Dame strongly pushed for an early-season matchup.

Notre Dame's schedule has been a major point of conversation during this offseason. With USC off the schedule and the upcoming series with Texas now in jeopardy, is the new era of college football bad for Notre Dame's schedule? Photo by The Irish Tribune While Notre Dame has been able to flourish while keeping their independence, their ability to schedule marquee opponents seems to be in doubt due to the ever-evolving landscape of college football. The first casualty was the

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