The USC-Notre Dame rivalry isn’t just another game on the college football calendar-it’s one of the sport’s most iconic traditions. For nearly a century, this West Coast vs.
Midwest clash has delivered everything fans love about college football: history, intensity, pageantry, and plenty of NFL-bound talent on both sidelines. But starting next season, that tradition is hitting pause.
For at least the next two years, USC and Notre Dame won’t meet on an annual basis-and that’s sending shockwaves through the college football world.
The decision, driven largely by scheduling challenges, has sparked plenty of frustration, and not without reason. After all, this is a rivalry that’s endured through some of the toughest periods in American history.
The only things that have previously interrupted it? World War II and a global pandemic.
Now, it’s not a war or a health crisis keeping these two from squaring off-it’s the College Football Playoff race and the grind of conference scheduling.
From USC’s perspective, the move makes some logistical sense. With their transition into the Big Ten, the Trojans are staring down a gauntlet of physical, high-stakes matchups late in the season.
Think about what it means to potentially face Ohio State, Penn State, and Notre Dame in a three-week stretch. That’s not just a tough draw-that’s a season-defining stretch that could leave a team physically and emotionally spent.
In that context, moving the Notre Dame game-or shelving it for a bit-becomes a strategic decision.
Still, there’s no denying what’s being lost here. This isn’t just any rivalry-it’s one of the crown jewels of college football.
The colors, the uniforms, the legends who’ve played in this game-it’s all part of the sport’s rich fabric. From Reggie Bush to Tim Brown, from Lou Holtz to Pete Carroll, this game has been a stage for greatness.
And now, it’s being sidelined because of scheduling math.
And let’s be clear: this isn’t just a USC or Notre Dame issue. It speaks to a larger trend in college football, where tradition is often sacrificed at the altar of playoff positioning and conference realignment. Rivalries that once defined the sport are now viewed as optional, or even expendable, in the chase for postseason relevance.
Notre Dame, of course, remains independent, and their playoff aspirations are very much alive year in and year out. But USC’s situation is different.
Their move into the Big Ten means long road trips to places like Indiana, Wisconsin, and Happy Valley-each one a physical and logistical challenge. Add in a marquee non-conference opponent like Notre Dame, and suddenly the schedule becomes a brutal obstacle course.
Still, for fans, this one stings. The game has always been more than just a date on the calendar-it’s been a celebration of college football at its best. And now, it’s on hold.
Whether the rivalry returns in 2027 or beyond remains to be seen. But for now, one of the sport’s most storied matchups is taking an unexpected timeout-and college football is a little less whole because of it.