The USC Trojans and Notre Dame Fighting Irish have been a yearly matchup since 1926, but the historic rivalry may be coming to an end. The two sides are struggling to agree to a deal, but the USC Trojans have provided potential solutions to the issue.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are looking to get a multi-year deal done with USC, but the Trojans are not agreeing to it. Instead of shutting down the rivalry altogether, USC is looking to do a one-year renewal with the Fighting Irish, extending an offer through the fall of 2026, per The Times.
With the College Football Playoff format changing, the USC Trojans would wait to find out more information before agreeing to a long-term deal. USC would like to first find out if the Big Ten conference will have four automatic qualifiers into the CFP. The 12-team expanded playoff model's contract ends after the 2025 season and there are rumors of adding teams to make the bracket 14 or 16 teams.
Another issue with the rivalry going forward is since joining the Big Ten conference, USC’s travel has increased. The Trojans proposed moving the game to the first half of the season to make the season easier on USC when the team picks up the amount of traveling when facing in-conference opponents in the second half of the year.
Notre Dame remains against the idea of moving the game to earlier in the season, causing a stalemate in the issue. Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua spoke to Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde about the rivalry’s potential end. Bevacqua implied Notre Dame wants the rivalry to continue, and it is up to USC to agree.
“I think Southern Cal and Notre Dame should play every year for as long as college football is played,” Bevacqua said. “SC knows how we feel.”
Since 1926, there have only been two times that the Trojans and Fighting Irish did not play each other and it was due to unforeseen circumstances. The first was during a hiatus during World War II, and the second was in 2020 during the COVID-19 season. Outside of that, this rivalry is one of the most anticipated yearly matchups.
USC associate athletic director Cody Worsham emphasized that the Trojans would like to keep the rivalry going and that it is special to the program, but there is a lot for the program to sort out to make it happen.
“We want the USC-Notre Dame rivalry to continue, which is why we offered an extension of our agreement,” Worsham said. “It’s a special game to our fans and our institution. We will continue to work with Notre Dame on scheduling future games.”
USC holds a 37-52-5 record against Notre Dame, currently on a two-year losing streak. Trojans coach Lincoln Riley spoke about the possibility of the rivalry ending ahead of the 2024 season during the Big Ten media day. While Riley would like to keep the rivalry going, he will put winning a National Championship over the yearly matchup.
“I would love to (continue the USC-Notre Dame series). I know it means a lot to a lot of people. The purist in you, no doubt,” Riley said. “Now if you get in a position where you got to make a decision on what’s best for SC to help us win a national championship, then you got to look at it.”
The 2025 matchup between the two schools is set for Oct. 18 at Notre Dame Stadium and will be a prime time game.
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