Notre Dame and Southern California have been competing on the gridiron since 1926. The two storied programs’ annual meeting has only been interrupted because of the Second World War and the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet Saturday’s showdown in South Bend remains the final scheduled game on the docket between the Trojans and Fighting Irish, with no imminent extension in sight. If this is truly the ultimate edition of college football’s greatest and most historic intersectional rivalry, how did it all come to this?
There is no debate that USC and Notre Dame are two of college football’s elite brands and premier programs. They have each had their fair share of success against each other and within the national landscape, which you can read about in Payton Dymek’s recent piece. However, this point wasn’t reached due to a lack of big games or a lack of success from either program. Like most changes in the world of intercollegiate athletics, money and power are to blame for the potential termination of Notre Dame’s most important annual series.
Fans of the Irish like to ridicule Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley for his perceived softness and fear of playing big-time opponents. While it is true that Riley escaped Oklahoma as the Sooners were preparing to join the SEC, and it is equally true that Riley has struggled against Notre Dame and the upper echelon of the Big Ten, he and the USC brass have legitimate reasons to consider their standing in this rivalry.
It can also be true that head coach Marcus Freeman, athletic director Pete Bevacqua and Notre Dame are doing all they can to ensure the rivalry continues. Make no mistake, if this is the final time USC and Notre Dame square off inside the lines, USC is at fault. So why do the Trojans see a benefit in not playing Notre Dame?
Whether or not the Big Ten schedule is actually all that grueling is up to debate. But the College Football Playoff (CFP) selection committee mandated last year that Big Ten teams with impressive records, regardless of their strength of schedule, would be included in the Playoff field (see Indiana). Selection for the Playoff is a massive revenue generator, provides a huge boost in recruiting, and presents a level of stability for any program. So in the minds of the Trojans, why risk a non-conference loss to the Irish when you already have to deal with the likes of Washington, Oregon, Michigan, Ohio State and Penn State in conference play?
As the rivalry is currently played, Southern Cal has to either travel to South Bend during the heart of conference play or host Notre Dame right before they would ideally play in an intense Big Ten Championship Game. The annual rivalry provides all the value (and lots of money) to Notre Dame, while USC feels like they have to both beat Notre Dame and remain successful in one of college football’s best conferences to gain respect. Naturally, the Trojans feel slighted.
Various solutions have been floated by both administrations, but each plan involves one side making key concessions to the other’s wishes. There have been talks to move the game up to September, but that would heavily frontload an already grueling beginning of the season in most Notre Dame schedules. Netflix proposed a massive contract to televise the series and move the games off-campus to neutral sites, but that would likely violate both Notre Dame’s NBC contract, and the Big Ten’s lucrative deal with CBS, NBC and FOX. Of course, Notre Dame is content continuing the series as it is, but we’ve already discussed USC’s insecurities with the current framework.
As the CFP looks to expand once again, talks of guaranteeing automatic bids to the Big Ten and SEC have emerged. In this case, postseason for USC would only hinge on their performance in conference games, rendering the Notre Dame meeting largely unimportant but likely allowing the series to continue. The other solution for USC would be to simply outperform the Irish on the football field, not in the boardroom or the press conference, and win the game. But where’s the joy in that?
Ever present, Freeman dismissed the uncertainty and turned his focus to Saturday, saying, “I know there’s discussions, and hopefully we can continue this great rivalry. The focus right now for me, obviously, is this one that we have. That’s the only guarantee, and [we’ll] put everything we got into this one that we have.”
As we all await the future, Freeman reminds us not to lose sight of the present. Saturday’s battle for the Jeweled Shillelagh shapes up to be among the most consequential since the turn of the century, and future disappointment shouldn’t distract from the spectacle inside Notre Dame Stadium. After all, whoever claims the trophy on Saturday night may just hold it for eternity.