FOOTBALL

USC Will Not Play Notre Dame In 2026

This will come as no surprise to readers of this blog but USC and Notre Dame are officially not playing each other next season. And the earliest they can play is 2030!

This is a rivalry that has existed since 1926 and only stopped for World War II and Covid.

This will forever be a stain on the legacy of Jen Cohen and Lincoln Riley. They know nothing about tradition or the importance of this rivalry to fans. Riley is from Muleshoe, Texas. Cohen thinks the Apple Cup is a big rivalry.

Below is the statement that

35 thoughts on “USC Will Not Play Notre Dame In 2026”

  1. My first SC/ND game was 1974 (also my first SC game). The last game I saw at South Bend was Bush Push game. A bunch of spectacular games in between. Didn’t think this day would ever come. Sad.

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    1. This is an awful decision in so many ways. If one wanted to write the history of college football, then the ND and USC games from 1931, 1964, 1968, 1974, 2005, at a minimum would be in that history. This is 100% terrible and I hope other alums write to the admin and let them know.

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  3. Ross Dellinger reports that “the two programs were on the verge of finalizing a two-year extension of their agreement in late November, with USC agreed to host Notre Dame on the traditional date after Thanksgiving and the Irish hosting in 2027. However, USC officials determined that the game date was not ideal considering past decisions from the CFP selection committee in punishing schools for losses, especially for those late in the season”

    So – we were scared of another loss? Is this SC anymore?

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  4. More interesting than this is who will replace Notre Dame on the non-conference schedule the next two years. Already watered down with Fresno State, Nevada, UNLV and Louisiana. Would be nice to see Cal & Stanford. Cal just dropped BYU in 2026 & 2027 (Notre Dame picked up those games) so something may be brewing on this front.

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  5. “The two administrators have agreed to work to restart the series as soon as 2030, those with knowledge of their talks told Yahoo Sports.”

    They figure either Riley will be gone by then or his cowardly schedule will have paid off and fans will have forgotten about how we got there.

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  6. Let’s see:

    1. $100M+, 10 year contract.
    2. $17M mansion in Palos Verdes.
    3. Parking spot right next to the building.
    4. New $200M facility.
    5. Not interacting with students, fans at rallies & such.
    6. After doing 5, having the nerve to demand that fans bring more energy to games.
    7. Destroying 100 year old rivalry, to make things easier.

    What’s next?

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      1. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Along with Sacramento State, UC Davis, San Diego, Cal Poly, Northern Arizona, Portland State, Eastern Washington!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

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  7. Pardon my wonkishness…

    The CFP committee’s decision to exclude ND from the Playoff has absolutely been validated. Early season loss HEAD-to-HEAD to Miami matters. Texas AM was exposed AT HOME this weekend. The in conference record of Texas AM’s opponents was 20-52, so TAM conveniently ambushed ND in September and then waltzed through their conference schedule. ND otherwise schedules 9 scrimmages–most at home. This helped them groom a young QB–who showed he wasn’t ready for the big time in his two early season losses. Playing a predominantly home schedule against non-physical teams keep their skill and defensive players healthy for the USC game. Routinely, their AD would use a “bye” week prior to the USC game in October. (USC’s ADs have had to do similar contrivances)

    ND uses the USC scheduled game to pump up their otherwise weak, contrived SOS. They are guaranteed ample NIL money and don’t share TV money and don’t share FB revenues with 15 other conference members.

    Fact of the matter, USC moved to a competitive and functional conference, where a win on the road matters. Since leaving the Pac 12, USC’s SOS has been monstrous. USC’s offense continues to do well against top 20 defenses–playing 4 top 20 defenses (ND included in that tally), and steam-rolls the rest of the defenses. Just need to build a stout defense (and learn to play ST again) and we will be in the CFP.

    The Princess should join th.e BIg 10. They would end up a solid 10-2, 9-3. The ACC is DOA–despite Mario Cristobal’s fine work.

    I would have preferred a USC/ND game in September, but….

    This is the change that CFB–a sport I dearly love–needs. Way to go, Jenn Cohen.

    It will be a fine sip of Blanton’s tonight as I celebrate ND getting their lil Princess @$$ whipped.

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      1. With all due respect to a great Trojan, maybe Keyshawn shouldn’t have pointed to Michigan and Ohio State in his tirade….since we now play both of those universities instead of Notre Dame.

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  8. My first and last comment on this blog: I Started watching USC at the age of 6 in 1986, was a loyal fan, attended games as a student, and rarely miss a game on tv. I’m officially done. College Football stinks.

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    2. My first USC memory was the 1969 USC UCLA game. Thanks for your loyalty. Fight on!
      ESPN, NIL, and the portal destroyed a sport I love.

      ESPN, the sec, acc, and ND took advantage of an unfair and dysfunctional system. Even to this day, the SEC manipulates the process to get as many teams into the CFP.

      i understand that you wanna check out. I can’t watch soccer, and hockey season starts too late. lol.

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  10. USC leads UCLA all-time in the Crosstown Rivalry 52-34-7. I don’t see the Bruins giving up on the series so easily. Too bad USC, which is on the short end of the ND series at 51-37-5, is so casually just throwing their sucker in the dirt.

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  11. USC will again be playing ND in 2030, or so…

    I think the big10 tv contract is up in 2030. By that time we should have two super conferences of mostly blue bloods—big 10 and big 12 schools in one conference and sec acc in the other. There will be a Super Bowl for CFI…maybe the week before the nfl superbowl? Just a hunch

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  14. Scooter,

    This is what I wrote to the General manager, the AD, and to riley:

    I have been a fan for sixty (60) years for SC football and sports.  I know of players that have have bled, have been injured, and were victorious while playing for USC.  I thought I would never see the day that SC would not play ND.

    None of you deserve to be the General Manager, head of the Athletic Department, or head coach of one of the greatest institutions of college football.  None of you have the capacity to even understand what it means to be a Trojan for SC or know the history or respect for this riverly.  You coward to losing.  You coward to not playing a tough schedule, you coward to the motto, “Anyone, anytime, and anywhere”.  You do not deserve to be working there.  You need to resign, all of you. 

    You have no clue what this game means to people or the nation.

    This is a God’s honest story, a Japanese student was going to SC and he went to see the 1940 SC vs nd game at the Colisuem.  He goes back to Japan to visit his family.  The war starts up and he wants to come back to the US but he is drafted by the Japanese army.  A couple years later he is a captain in the Japanese army and he is on the Battan death march. He is observing US military soldiers marching and he see’s a Japanese solider beating and using his rifle butt on a US soldier.  The Japanese captain goes up to the both of them and he tells the Japanese soldier to leave.  Then in English he asks the US soldier why he was being beaten.  The US soldier said because of this and he showed him his Notre Dame ring.  The captain recognized what it was and what it meant.  The captain told the US soldier that he attended USC and that he had been to see nd play against SC at the Coluseim.  The captain told him that he had much respect for nd because of the game and to hide the ring.

    Southern California, alumni, fans, and eve people that hate USC are not happy with what you have decided.  This school is way too big for your thoughts and with that, RESIGN today.

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