Lincoln Riley managed to keep one of college football’s best-known secrets under wraps, and that alone deserves some credit.
When he was asked at Big Ten Media Days about the Notre Dame-USC rivalry, Riley came off irritated and evasive, giving the clear sense that the series wasn’t close to coming back anytime soon. Then Monday morning arrived, and the schools announced that the matchup will return, even if fans still have a long wait ahead.
The agreement calls for a four-year home-and-home contract. Notre Dame will head to the Coliseum in 2030, then USC will travel to South Bend in 2031. The first two meetings will be played in Week 1, and the final two years of the deal, 2032 and 2033, are set to come early in the season as well - either in Week 1, Week 2 or Week 3, according to On3’s Pete Nakos.
That setup looks like a compromise, but USC appears to have gotten the bigger win. The Trojans had pushed to move the series away from the middle of the season and wanted it earlier in the year, with Week 0 a major sticking point in the negotiations.
Notre Dame wanted to preserve the rivalry’s traditional place later in the schedule. The Irish are still getting the series back early, just not necessarily at the very start of the year in every case.
There may be another USC concession baked into the timeline, too. Riley’s program had made it clear it didn’t want to play Notre Dame unless the College Football Playoff expands from 12 to 24 teams. There’s no certainty that expansion happens, but by 2030, there’s a real chance the push succeeds.
For college football, though, this is the part that matters most. Too often, the sport’s changes come with stories about traditions getting lost. The return of Notre Dame-USC is the opposite of that - a reminder that some rivalries still matter enough to survive the churn.
The buzz around bringing the series back picked up again this spring, then faded as summer went on. That makes Riley’s silence look even more impressive. He’d taken plenty of heat over the rivalry’s disappearance, and he could have played the hero if he’d let even a little bit slip before the announcement.
Notre Dame may have the edge on Riley on the field, but Marcus Freeman probably won’t want to sit across from him at a poker table anytime soon.
In Other News...
Notre Dame Just Changed How Indiana's Future Schedule Will Be Judged
Indianas future nonconference slate took another hit when its planned home-and-home series with Notre Dame for 2030-31 was canceled, removing one of the more recognizable games from the Hoosiers schedule. The change comes as Notre Dame moved to renew its rivalry with USC in a four-game series, keeping one of college footballs marquee matchups on the calendar and leaving Indiana to keep reshaping its own future dates.
For Indiana, the timing only sharpens the conversation around how its schedules will be judged going forward. The Hoosiers currently do not have any Power Four non-conference opponents lined up, a detail that has already drawn criticism about the strength of their future slates. Losing Notre Dame adds another layer to that scrutiny, especially with so much attention now on how programs position themselves for selection committees and public perception alike. [Read more 🡒]
Lincoln Riley Just Added Real Heat To Notre Dame-USC Again
Lincoln Riley has put fresh attention back on one of college footballs most stubborn rivalries by revisiting the Notre Dame-USC scheduling issue. The USC coach pointed to the reality of the Trojans conference calendar as part of the reason the matchup has landed where it has, while also taking aim at Notre Dames choices along the way. It is the kind of public back-and-forth that keeps a long-running series from going stale, even when the games themselves are still years away.
For Notre Dame, the timing matters because the rivalry is officially set to restart in 2030, with the games scheduled early in the season. That only raises the stakes around every comment and countercomment between the two sides, especially when the conversation shifts from tradition to logistics. Rileys latest remarks do not change the calendar, but they do remind both fan bases that the tension around this series is already back in full view. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame Is Still Waiting On The Indiana Matchup Fans Wanted
Indiana footballs future non-conference slate has been drawing attention, and not in the way Notre Dame fans had hoped. Under Curt Cignetti, the Hoosiers have mapped out a schedule through 2029 that stays away from any Power Four opponent outside the Big Ten, a sharp turn from the kind of game that can make an autumn calendar feel a little bigger.
Indiana had previously had games with Virginia and Louisville on the books before moving on to lighter opponents, and Cignetti has described the approach as SEC-style in its emphasis on conference play. For Notre Dame, though, the matchup people keep circling is still a ways off, with the first series between the programs now slated for 2030-31. [Read more 🡒]