Nov 30, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Southern California Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley and Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman shake hands after the game at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Why a UCLA-Notre Dame Rivalry Makes Sense

Originally posted on UCLA Bruins on SI | By Brock Vierra | Last updated May 18, 2025 8:00 AM ET

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish and UCLA's arch-rival USC have an annual rivalry dating back to 1926, with missed games having been the result of World War II and a pandemic. However, Notre Dame's new schedule, paired with the lack of commitment by the Trojans to extend the series, may lead to its extinction after the 2026 season or when the rivalry turns 100 years old.

USC's Lincoln Riley has attempted to get out of a big non-conference game in the past, trying to avoid their matchup with LSU to begin the 2024 season. Riley spoke about the future of USC's rivalry with Notre Dame at the 2024 Big Ten Media Days.

“I would love to," he said. "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.”

Notre Dame has also made moves, scheduling an annual rivalry with Clemson that takes their series into the 2030s.

If USC drops Notre Dame, UCLA should be ready to step up either as an annual rival or a one-time Shamrock Series game at SoFi Stadium.

There are various factors in play, such as the Big Ten and their TV deal, UCLA's other non-conference games, and travel logistics, but the move would put eyes on the brand and money in their pocket.

Notre Dame already travels west, so it traveling to Los Angeles is not a problem for it. Plus, it plays Stanford on the road every year.

UCLA went to Nebraska and New Jersey in 2024 and won, so travel isn't an issue for it either.

It's something to consider in a sport where money has gone from king to emperor.