A century-long series of rivalries between USC and Notre Dame takes a few years off, and as far as Lincoln Riley is concerned, the Irish are to blame.
In his first public comments after the series was officially suspendedThe USC coach laid the blame squarely on Notre Dame for not accepting USC's latest offer to continue the rivalry, which would have moved the 2026 game, normally scheduled for November, right into the season.
“It’s pretty simple,” Riley said Monday before USC spoke. bowl game with Texas Christian. “We both worked for months trying to find a solution. Notre Dame was very vocal about how they would play us whenever, wherever.
“Jen Cohen, our publicity director, came back to Notre Dame about a couple of weeks ago with a script and an offer that would extend the series for the next two years. We took Notre Dame at their word that they would play us whenever and wherever they wanted. That offer was rejected.
“Not only was the offer rejected, but five minutes after we got the call it was announced that they had nominated another opponent, and I give them credit, this may be the fastest action plan in the history of college football.”
The Times reported last week that the playoff selection earlier this month marked a turning point for USC administrators in negotiations with Notre Dame. The realization that the Irish – by virtue of an additional agreement with the College Football Playoff committee that gives them a bid if they finish in the top 12 – would have taken the field instead of Miami especially gave USC pause.
That's when Cohen returned to Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua with an offer to meet in the season opener. Instead, Notre Dame designated Brigham Young to fill the vacancy for the next two seasons.
Riley came under fire for his role in the potential collapse of the rivalry after he suggested in August 2024 that the annual series could be in jeopardy if USC proved to be too big of an obstacle to the Trojans' path to the College Football Playoff.
In the spring, as negotiations between the two schools stalled and the public pointed fingers at Riley and USC, Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman said the continuation of the rivalry was “pretty black and white for me.”
“I want to play with them every year,” Freeman said. “You want my opinion? I want to play them every year. When? I don't care. I don't care when we play them: early season, midseason, late season. I don't care. I want to play USC every year because I think it's great for college football.”
Initially steadfast in its intention to renegotiate the rivalry year by year to await changes to the College Football Playoff format, USC sent Notre Dame a modified proposal before the season that would have extended the series by two seasons. But Notre Dame wanted a more long-term agreement.
The two schools nearly came to an agreement in October during their last meeting in South Bend. USC made it clear that it wanted to play this game early in the season, but was eager to see the idea of continuing the series as is through 2027.
USC decided to strengthen after Sunday's tryout and returned to USC with a final offer to play early in the 2026 season. Notre Dame refused.
“The fact is very, very clear: This can be worked out very quickly,” Riley said. “If Notre Dame had kept their word and played us anytime, anywhere, we would have played for the next two years and after that we would have looked forward and hopefully continued the streak.
“They didn't live up to their promise, so we won't be playing them for the next couple of years. We hope something works out in the future. That would be fantastic. We at SC would like to see the game continue. We have no problem keeping our promises in the future.”
It will be some time before these negotiations resume. The next window in which USC could play Notre Dame is the 2030 season.
