Report: Historic Notre Dame-USC rivalry in danger of ending

Notre Dame and USC have played each other on the football field 95 times since 1924. According to Pat Forde of Sports Illustrated, the future of one of college football’s more historic rivalries is on the brink of collapse.

“The USC-Notre Dame rivalry, one of the greatest in college football, is on the brink of ending this fall,” Forde posted on X, revealing the Trojans and the Irish may not come to an agreement to play beyond 2025. “The two sides see the situation very differently, with talks ongoing.”

Per Forde, Irish athletic director Pete Bevacqua has made it clear that his school is seeking a long-term extension of the rivalry: “I think Southern Cal and Notre Dame should play every year for as long as college football is played,” Bevacqua told Sports Illustrated. “SC knows that’s how we feel.”

Evidently, this season’s iteration of the rivalry, which will emanate from South Bend on Oct. 18, is the last one in the current contract between the programs. Forde reported USC has offered a one-year extension to play in Los Angeles in 2026, while Notre Dame is desiring another long-term deal at the moment.

All hope isn’t gone though: “We want the USC–Notre Dame rivalry to continue, which is why we offered an extension of our agreement,” USC associate athletic director Cody Worsham told Sports Illustrated. “It’s a special game to our fans and our institution. We will continue to work with Notre Dame on scheduling future games.” 

According to Forde, the Trojans are hesitant to enter into a long-term deal due to uncertainty about the future College Football Playoff format, and the demands of heightened travel since joining the Big Ten Conference. One solution would be moving the game to a season-opening spot on the schedule, and that’s something USC has broached, sources told Sports Illustrated.

It remains to be seen if the two sides can come to an agreement, but it would be a shame to see one of the sport’s top rivalries dissolve. USC head coach Lincoln Riley commented on the matter at Big Ten media days last summer, stating a desire to continue playing Notre Dame.

“I would love to [continue the series]. I know it means a lot to a lot of people,” Riley said, via Forde. “The purist in you, no doubt. Now if you get in a position where you got to make a decision on what’s best for SC to help us win a national championship vs. keeping that, shoot, then you got to look at it.

“And listen, we’re not the first example of that. Look all the way across the country. There has been a lot of other teams sacrifice rivalry games. And I’m not saying that’s what’s going to happen. But as we get into this playoff structure, and if it changes or not, we’re in this new conference, we’re going to learn something about this as we go and what the right and the best track is to winning a national championship, that’s going to evolve.”