Marcus Freeman gives his take on why rivalry with USC is in danger

No. 13 Notre Dame and No. 20 USC will clash this weekend in South Bend in what will be the 93rd meeting between the two rivals. The game has been played every season (except the COVID-shortened 2020 season) dating back to 1926. The Fighting Irish own the all-time series 50-37-5.
With both teams in contention for the 12-team College Football Playoff, this is one of the biggest meetings in years between the two historic rivals. However, this is the last scheduled meeting between Notre Dame and USC due to conference realignment/scheduling issues.
Prior to kickoff on Saturday, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman joined ‘The Dan Patrick Show‘ on Thursday to discuss the potential ending of the rivalry. Since taking over the program in 2022, Freeman’s teams are 2-1 against USC.
“Look, there are decisions that institutions make based off conference scheduling and things like that,” Freeman said. “I know that’s playing into some of the discussions that USC is having, I’m sur,e with our administration. The higher-ups, I’m sure, are going back and forth on little details, so I don’t know.
“I don’t know what it means to them, but I know it means a lot to us. It does. The rivalry, the quality of opponent and respect for the program means a lot to this University and football program and we want to see it continue.”
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A win in South Bend would be massive for both Notre Dame and USC
Although it opened the season with back-to-back losses to No. 10 Miami and No. 16 Texas A&M (both of which are now ranked inside the top five), No. 13 Notre Dame is still in the thick of the College Football Playoff race halfway through the season. It has salvaged the slow start with a four-game winning streak against Purdue, Arkansas, Boise State and NC State, in which it has outscored opponents 176-57.
Meanwhile, USC has been extremely consistent throughout the entire season. The Trojans are 5-1, with their lone loss coming at No. 23 Illinois on Sept. 27 via a last-second field goal. Last weekend, Lincoln Riley‘s team throttled No. 15 Michigan 31-13 in LA to jump back into the Top-25 Rankings.
With the Irish not currently scheduled to face a ranked opponent over the final five weeks of the regular season, a win over the No. 20-ranked Trojans would be massive for their CFP resume. Meanwhile, USC still has games against No. 25 Nebraska, Iowa, No. 8 Oregon and a suddenly resurgent UCLA team on the docket. If the Trojans want to have a shot to make the CFP for the first time under Lincoln Riley, a win in South Bend is necessary.
Kickoff for the matchup in South Bend is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET on Saturday. The game can be seen on NBC and Peacock.