The Fight to Keep the Notre Dame–USC Rivalry Alive Past 2025

What is going to happen between Notre Dame and USC after Saturday? The longtime rivals have played every year (except for during World War II and the Covid pandemic) since 1926, but no games are officially agreed to be played beyond this weekend.

Is this really it for what is one of the greatest rivalries in all of college sports?

And what would it take for the rivalry to be salvaged on a weekly basis?

Here's what the future of Notre Dame and USC might look, if there is one at all.

Moving the Game Up

For decades, USC has made the trip to South Bend every odd numbered year in the middle of October. The weather isn't brutal by then in the Midwest, and USC might get greeted by October rain, but doesn't get hit with potential snow or sleet like it would if it were played later in the year.

Notre Dame then gets a trip to Los Angeles in even years, when the weather starts to get bad, giving a little bit of a reward to the team as they get away from the late falls cold that usually takes over.

If the rivalry is to continue, you can almost certainly write away the hopes of it taking place at these times.

USC isn't necessarily scared to travel to Notre Dame, but clearly doesn't want to in the middle of the Big Ten season, ever other year. It also seems to not want to have to host a powerhouse like Notre Dame and then get ready for a potential Big Ten championship game a week later against what would be another extremely talented opponent.

Notre Dame-USC Rivalry: A Move to September?

If it is to continue, it would then have to be played in the first three or four weeks of the season to fit USC's desires. That way USC could start the year with a likely cupcake, play Notre Dame in its second or third week of the season, and then perhaps play another cupcake before getting set for Big Ten play.

That eliminates what is generally a very tough Notre Dame game from the middle or end of USC's schedule and eliminates an extra trip to the Midwest, since those at USC seem to think air travel to South Bend in 2025 is like traveling the Oregon Trail back in 1830.

That would seem to fit USC's desires, but it wouldn't cover all their bases.

Notre Dame would then add USC to a September start that generally begins with a big-time opponent (Miami, Texas A&M, Ohio State, and Florida State all since 2021), frontloading the schedule. I don't think Notre Dame is thrilled with the idea, but if its what has to be done, it's what has to be done.

What USC Actually Wants in Order to Continue Notre Dame Rivalry

USC has made an effort to save face in all of this, but its fairly clear to all informed parties what is actually going on.

USC wants the Notre Dame game to continue, as long as the Notre Dame game doesn't have a real impact on its College Football Playoff chances.

From Ryan Kartje of the Los Angeles Times back on May 21, 2025:

The future of the rivalry beyond that (2026), in the eyes of USC’s leaders, hinges in large part on what happens with the format of the College Football Playoff — namely, the number of automatic qualifiers guaranteed to the Big Ten in future playoff fields. And until those questions are answered, USC leaders agree the best course forward for its century-old rivalry with Notre Dame would be to continue their arrangement one season at a time.

Anything else would be “a strategically bad decision,” a USC source said.

Nick Shepkowski's Quick Takeaway:

If the Big Ten can get, say six automatic qualifiers, then the Notre Dame rivalry with USC will almost certainly stay.

Think of it this way: if the Big Ten is guaranteed six teams in a potential 16 team College Football Playoff field, all USC has to do is finish in the top-third of the Big Ten to make the dance. The Notre Dame game then becomes inconsiquential, but a great way to save face.

If it doesn't get the six automatic bids, then USC and the rest of the Big Ten team's path to the College Football Playoff isn't as crystal clear, meaning the Notre Dame would then come at more of a risk and likely not be renewed.

My best guess as to what happens? We'll see the schools agree to pick up the option for the 2026 game at USC, but until a decision is made on CFP expansion and automatic conference bids that would come with it, nothing long-term would be signed, and the game would move from the middle or late fall to early to mid-September.