Notre Dame and USC are bringing back the Jeweled Shillelagh, and the long break finally has an end date.
The schools announced a four-year renewal of the rivalry that will begin in 2030 and run through 2033, with the first game set for Aug. 31, 2030, in Los Angeles at the Coliseum. Notre Dame had been scheduled to play Indiana in that slot, but that game now appears to be off the board.
USC will make the return trip to South Bend in 2031, also in Week 1. The 2032 and 2033 matchups will fall in Week 1, 2 or 3.
It is a notable shift for a series that has been stuck in limbo. The annual meeting was paused while the two programs worked out when the rivalry could rejoin the schedule, and the new agreement gives the matchup a clear runway again after what had become a contentious offseason.
The rivalry itself carries plenty of weight. Notre Dame-USC is the second-most played series for the Irish, trailing only Navy, and Notre Dame has owned the matchup for years. The Irish are 53-38-5 all time against Southern Cal and have won all but four games since the 2010 season, a stretch that helped fuel USC’s reluctance to keep the game rolling.
Marcus Freeman has done his part to keep that edge going. He is 3-1 against USC in his four completed seasons as head coach.
His first meeting ended in a 38-27 loss in the Coliseum, but Notre Dame has since stacked up three straight wins, all by double digits. The biggest came in 2023, when the Irish beat the undefeated, top-10 Trojans 48-20.
What changes now is the timing. Instead of the late-season stage that defines so many of college football’s biggest rivalries - Ohio State-Michigan, Auburn-Alabama, Clemson-South Carolina - this one will be played early, starting in the first quarter of the season. The Jeweled Shillelagh, a matchup dating back to 1926, is back on the calendar, just not in the place fans are used to seeing the sport’s biggest grudge matches.
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 🡒]