USC Gets Their Way; Pauses Historic Notre Dame Rivalry
- Brenden Duffy
- 2 hours ago
- 5 min read
Photos via Notre Dame Athletics
What a shocker, the University of Spoiled Children got their way. Hollywood has officially gone to their heads. The overall sentiment around the sport of college football is that it is a dying product, in large part due to conference realignment, the transfer portal, and a seemingly ‘anything goes’ world surrounding NIL. All of this has destroyed some of the sport’s greatest traditions and rivalries, and 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.
For context, the Irish and Trojans first played in 1926 and have played every year since, besides 1943-45 (World War II) and 2020 (Covid). The Jeweled Shillelagh trophy will have to be shelved until at least 2030, symbolizing the ‘pause’ on one of college football’s greatest rivalries. Between the two programs, no other annual rivalry has combined for more national titles, Heisman winners, or players selected in the NFL Draft. Notre Dame leads the all-time series 51-37-5, and has won the last three games, hopefully leaving a long-lasting salty taste in the Trojans mouths.
This past Monday, Notre Dame announced a home-and-home series for 2026 and ‘27 with BYU, finalizing the failure between the Irish and Trojans to sign a new contract.
While the current deal was always slated to end in 2025, there was no legitimate concern about the rivalry’s future until this May when Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde reported, “USC has expressed reluctance to enter into a long-term deal due to uncertainty about the future College Football Playoff format, and while assessing the demands of greater travel as a member of the Big Ten. USC has broached the idea of moving the game to a season-opening spot on the schedule, sources tell SI.” At this time, USC had offered a one-year extension to play at the LA Coliseum in 2026. Notre Dame was seeking a more long-term deal, preserving the rivalry and any chance of its demise in the future.
Essentially, all of this goes back to USC’s decision to join the Big Ten. This decision has created a domino effect that leads us to today. It was the Big Ten, including USC, who pushed for an expanded playoff format. It was USC that knew that the travel could be an issue for not just football, but their entire athletic department, when they joined the Big Ten. The Trojans did this to themselves, and as their alumni have boldly acknowledged across social media, they are the ones who look bad in this situation.
In his weekly press conference leading up to this past October’s USC matchup, Notre Dame Head Coach Marcus Freeman stated, "I know our leadership administration and their leadership administration are talking to try to find a way to extend this rivalry, and so I'm confident it will be extended…I think the rivalry between Notre Dame and USC is a great rivalry, one of the best, and I think it's great for college football." So what happened in just over two months to cause this strain?
Yahoo Sports has reported that the two programs were close to signing a two-year extension in November before USC ultimately backed out. Trojan officials determined that the traditional post-Thanksgiving date was "no longer ideal" based on past decisions from the CFP Committee, including punishing programs for late-season losses. USC AD Jen Cohen and Notre Dame AD Pete Bevacqua had a brief discussion about playing the game week zero next season, but clearly that dialogue did not end with a positive result.
This acknowledgement by USC that the CFP penalizes late-season losses is a roundabout way to say they know and are scared of Notre Dame’s abilities in its current state. The Irish have their leader for the foreseeable future, are now matching USC’s annual elite recruiting classes while exceeding their on-field product, and do not appear to be slowing down. If Notre Dame were not having this success on and off the field, there is little doubt in my mind that this rivalry’s future would even be in question. But that is just how USC rolls.
Most recently, USC officials have disputed that they received the full language of the CFP MOU, and that “new information” and the CFP selection process are why they do not want to play Notre Dame late in the season. NBC Sports confirmed this was false with a person who has direct knowledge of the communications between the Big Ten offices and schools. This source stated that all 18 schools received the full MOU, which USC supported, in March 2024. NBC Sports then reported a second source, claiming the MOU language had not been changed since its origination.
So not only is USC scared of Notre Dame, but they are just liars, in general. This last-ditch effort to stay clear of any blame was unsuccessful, thanks to Nicole Auerbach of NBC Sports. USC, Jen Cohen, and Lincoln Riley deserve any disapproval they receive from the Trojans staff, alumni, fans, and college football fans across the country who were able to even just casually enjoy the historic annual rivalry.
Notre Dame is going to continue playing big games that draw a national crowd and have Monday talk shows talking about the Irish. Admittedly, if other programs started dropping Notre Dame from their schedules, then they may have to take a look in the mirror. But this will not happen in the near future. USC was able to get away because of an expiring deal. The opponents that the Irish have scheduled for the future would likely have to pay a significant cancellation fee to Notre Dame if they dropped the game.
To further prove that Notre Dame is not 'ducking' USC, the Irish resume their Shamrock Series next season against Wisconsin at Lambeau Field before matchups with Miami, BYU, and Michigan State. In 2027, they will begin a 12-year series with Clemson, will finish the BYU series, and begin a home-and-home with Auburn. Then in 2028, they will play Clemson, Auburn, and Texas. And then in 2029, they will play Clemson, Texas, and Alabama. Maybe USC will be back in 2030, but the Irish will have a slew of big-time matchups to pass the time until they can defend the Jeweled Shillelagh. It is fitting that the trophy will be in its rightful home as it rests.
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