As one of college football’s most iconic rivalries nears the end of its current agreement, Notre Dame is pushing to preserve its annual showdown with USC, while the Trojans remain cautious amid shifting landscapes in college football.
Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua made his stance clear in an interview with Sports Illustrated, voicing his commitment to extending the 100-year-old rivalry.
“I think Southern Cal and Notre Dame should play every year for as long as college football is played, and SC knows that’s how we feel,” Bevacqua said.
The two powerhouse programs have squared off 95 times since 1926, missing only three years – during World War II and the COVID-impacted 2020 season.
The next scheduled game is set for October 18 in South Bend, which marks the final matchup under the current contract.
While USC has reportedly offered a one-year extension to continue the rivalry with a 2026 game in Los Angeles, Notre Dame is aiming for a long-term renewal of the agreement.
“We want the USC–Notre Dame rivalry to continue, which is why we offered an extension of our agreement,” USC associate athletic director Cody Worsham told Sports Illustrated.
“It’s a special game to our fans and our institution. We will continue to work with Notre Dame on scheduling future games.”
However, USC’s hesitancy to lock into a longer deal stems from several factors – namely the evolving College Football Playoff format and the increased travel demands the Trojans now face as members of the Big Ten.
According to reports, USC has also floated the idea of shifting the rivalry game to the start of the season, rather than its traditional late-October or November slot.
The uncertainty has stirred concern among college football traditionalists, as no annual series features two schools with more combined national championships. Since the Associated Press poll era began in 1936, Notre Dame claims nine titles and USC seven.
Notre Dame recently inked a 12-year home-and-home agreement with Clemson, set to begin in 2027. Despite the marquee matchup with the Tigers, Notre Dame insists this won’t hinder its ability to continue the USC rivalry.
As an independent in football but a member of the ACC in other sports, the Irish are required to play five ACC opponents annually – a requirement that the Clemson series will partly satisfy, according to ACC commissioner Jim Phillips.
As far as Notre Dame and USC, the two programs are heading in different directions on the field.
Under Marcus Freeman, the Irish surged from 9–4 to 14–2 in three seasons, including a trip to last season’s College Football Playoff National Championship Game.
Freeman holds a 2–1 record against USC and head coach Lincoln Riley, winning the last two meetings.
USC, on the other hand, has seen a decline under Riley. After an 11–3 debut season, the Trojans dropped to 8–5 and then 7–6 in their first year in the Big Ten.
Riley expressed appreciation for the rivalry last summer at Big Ten Media Days.
“I would love to [continue the series]. 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,” he said.
“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.”
Whether tradition prevails remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: Notre Dame isn’t ready to let this historic rivalry fade into the past.
What are your thoughts on the speculation that the historic Notre Dame – USC rivalry could soon be coming to an end???
