USC AD Jennifer Cohen claims Trojans are 'trying to extend' Notre Dame series

It was reported back in May that the rivalry between USC and Notre Dame could, because of the new landscape in the sport, be in danger of ending. However, as discussions have continued on it over the summer and into the fall, USC AD Jennifer Cohen says the Trojans are trying to make it work on their end.

Per Ryan Kartje at the LA Times, USC has offered a new deal for an extension of its series to Notre Dame. Cohen commented as part of that article last night, expressing the Trojans’ desire to continue that ongoing rivalry with the Fighting Irish.

“We’re trying to extend the series,” said Cohen to the LA Times. “This is an important series for us and for our fans and for our program, and hopefully we get to a resolution that supports that and is in the best interest of our program.”

With that, Cohen noted the complications there are in keeping the rivalry based on scheduling with USC, a program now in the Big Ten, and Notre Dame, an independent. When the game is played is one matter, as is how adaptable the Trojans are as compared to the Irish when it comes to fitting it onto a power team’s schedule.

“It’s not very typical that a P4 school would travel back and forth across the country for a nonconference game in the middle of October. Show me who else is doing that and doing the kind of travel we’re doing. It’s a cool tradition to play at the end of the year, but then those are back-to-back rivalry games with a conference championship — and our opponent doesn’t play in a conference championship,” said Cohen.

“They have a lot more flexibility in scheduling than we do,” said Cohen. “We’re in a bigger conference that doesn’t have the same level of ability to protect us in the way they schedule us for that type of game.”

Since then, both sides, although wanting what’s best for their respective schedules, have publicly expressed their desire for this all-time rivalry to continue. That’s been stated by their leadership as well as by both head coaches in USC’s Lincoln Riley and Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman.

USC vs. Notre Dame has been played 94 times in their history going back to 1926. That includes a matchup in every season since 1946 besides the pandemic year in 2020. The Irish lead that series all-time versus the Trojans at 52-37-5.

As more and more traditions are lost, this is a game that’s in need of protecting as far as the history of the sport. Each side is still trying to do just that, including this latest offer from those in Los Angeles to try to extend the series past this year’s game come mid-October.