USC-Notre Dame Rivalry Suspended as Lincoln Riley Points Fingers
In a surprising turn of events for college football fans, the historic USC-Notre Dame rivalry has hit a roadblock, with the two prestigious programs failing to reach an agreement for the 2026-27 season series. This development has led to some pointed comments from USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley, who didn’t mince words when addressing the situation before his team’s appearance in the Valero Alamo Bowl against TCU.
Riley painted a picture of frustration and disappointment, suggesting that Notre Dame didn’t live up to their public statements about scheduling flexibility. “It’s pretty simple. We both worked for months to try to find a solution,” Riley explained to the media. He specifically called attention to Notre Dame’s previous claims, noting, “Notre Dame was very vocal about the fact that they would play us anytime, anywhere. Obviously, them not having a conference affiliation gives them an ability to be pretty flexible with their scheduling.” According to Riley, USC’s athletic director Jen Cohen had approached Notre Dame with a proposal to extend the series approximately two weeks prior, but that proposal was rejected.
What seemed to particularly irk Riley wasn’t just the rejection itself, but the speed with which Notre Dame announced a replacement opponent. “Not only was it rejected, five minutes after we got the call, it was announced that they had scheduled another opponent, which I’ll give them credit. That might be the fastest scheduling act in college football history,” Riley remarked with evident sarcasm. Notre Dame opted to schedule a home-and-home series with BYU instead of maintaining their traditional rivalry with USC, leaving the Trojans scrambling to find an opponent to fill the gap in their future schedules.
The significance of this scheduling breakdown cannot be overstated in the context of college football history. Since 1926, USC and Notre Dame have faced each other 96 times, creating one of the sport’s most enduring and celebrated rivalries. Throughout this nearly century-long tradition, there have been only four missed games—three during World War II from 1943-45 and one in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The rivalry’s consistency has been one of its defining features, making this scheduling impasse all the more noteworthy for football traditionalists who have come to expect the annual clash between these storied programs.
Riley’s frustration was evident as he continued to emphasize what he perceived as Notre Dame going back on their word. “We took Notre Dame at their word that they would play us anytime, anywhere,” he stated. “Had Notre Dame lived up to their word and played us anytime, anywhere, we would be playing in the next two years, and looking ahead after that, hopefully continuing the series.” The coach’s comments reveal not just disappointment over a scheduling conflict, but hint at deeper tensions between the programs and potentially different priorities as college football continues to evolve in an era of conference realignment and changing media landscapes.
With this unexpected pause in the rivalry, the all-time series between these two football powerhouses will remain at 51-37-5 in favor of the Fighting Irish until at least 2028. For fans on both sides who have cherished this cross-country rivalry that spans generations, this break represents more than just a scheduling issue—it’s a disruption of a cherished tradition in college football. While Notre Dame moves forward with their plans to face BYU and USC searches for a new opponent, questions linger about the future of this iconic rivalry and whether the temporary suspension might lead to more permanent changes in the schedules of two of college football’s most storied programs.
