Oct 19, 2013; South Bend, IN, USA; General view of the line of scrimmage as Southern California Trojans center Marcus Martin (66) snaps the ball to quarterback Cody Kessler (6) against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Notre Dame Stadium. Notre Dame won 14-10. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

USC vs. Notre Dame: Final South Bend Kickoff Time of Rivalry Revealed?

Originally posted on Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI
By Nick Shepkowski | Last updated May 13, 2025 3:00 PM ET

Notre Dame announced the kickoff times for its 2025 home games on Monday, with the most notable item being three true home night games. Texas A&M is the first of those before USC comes a calling in October, and Navy in November. Could that USC contest end up being a part of history, though?

The Notre Dame-USC series, which has been played almost every year since 1926, is scheduled to go through 2026. If things go where those in charge at USC have hinted, this will be the final time the Trojans play in South Bend in the foreseeable future.

However, after Notre Dame's announcement last week that Clemson was being added to the schedule for a dozen years, starting in 2027, it really started to make me go back to what both USC head coach Lincoln Riley and athletic director Jennifer Cohen have said in the last 12 months.

Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

Lincoln Riley at 2024 Big Ten Media Days:

“I would love to. I know it means a lot to a lot of people. The purist in you, no doubt. 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 vs. keeping that, shoot, then you got to look at it.“

And listen, we're not the first example of that. Look all the way across the country. There has been a lot of other teams sacrifice rivalry games. And I'm not saying that's what's going to happen. But as we get into this Playoff structure, and if it changes or not, we’re in this new conference, we're going to learn something about this as we go and what the right and the best track is to winning a national championship, that's going to evolve.”

Jennifer Cohen to The Athletic in 2024

"With that being said, the landscape has changed dramatically. We're now playing in a conference where we fly back and forth across the country every week, and CFP expansion and how you get access to the CFP and how things are seeded and selected. Those, to me, are important, unanswered questions.

So we remain in conversations with Notre Dame about the series. I think we're clear to each other (that) we're going to evaluate what's best, and it's my job to evaluate what's best for our student-athletes and our program."

There is nothing beyond 2026 that has been agreed upon by the two schools, at least not publicly. Will this be the last dance between the Fighting Irish and Trojans in Notre Dame Stadium?

Notre Dame and USC are set to kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET on October 18. Notre Dame will be looking to win its seventh straight home game over the Trojans and for the seventh time in its last eight tries overall against the hated rival.

Here's to hoping and wishing this isn't the last time USC makes this trip east, even if the arrow seems pointed in that unfortunate direction.

This article first appeared on Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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