Pat Forde: ND)USC series likely over
"The USC-Notre Dame rivalry, one of the greatest in college football, is on the brink of ending this fall. The two sides see the situation very differently, with talks ongoing."
"The two football bluebloods have met 95 times since 1924, playing every year but three during World War II and during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. The Oct. 18 game in South Bend is the last one in the current contract. USC has offered a one-year extension to play in Los Angeles in 2026, sources tell SI, while Notre Dame desires another long-term deal."
** Edited by TerryD at 5/19/2025, 4:57:28 PM
39 Replies
1y
ND is not immune to these rapid changes. Grab UCLA as a middle finger to USC and move on.
(In response to this post by TerryD)
1y
Where is
OU vs NEB
Pitt Vs PSU
WVU vs VT
Ok State vs OU
Mizzou vs KU
Many more!
(In response to this post by goldendomer)
Good to hear from you @GoldenDomer. I haven't heard from you in awhile.
@TerryD has been holding down the ND fort in your absence.
Hope to hear more from you.
(In response to this post by goldendomer)
1y
to cancer and trying to kids lives organized. But I do occasionally stop by to see what is up here.
(In response to this post by Maroon Baboon)
1y
to read your input along with some of the other non-VT people.
(In response to this post by goldendomer)
2
2hhoop3
1y
very sorry for your loss. Prayers for you and your family as you grieve and adjust.
(In response to this post by goldendomer)
Very sorry to hear of the loss of your wife. I hope and pray that you can
find peace and joy in life once again.
(In response to this post by goldendomer)
1y
(In response to this post by MrFantastic!)
T
Truthahn
1y
That is, in the ACC.
(In response to this post by TerryD)
1y
....and their constant whining about this series.
Pull the plug already and move on, USC.
(In response to this post by mancunian)
1y
We need rivalries to stay. USC and ND is history. Just you calling them whiners shows rivalry. I miss VT vs WVU. Lower scale than ND vs USC but to each fan HUGE day. We do not have. VT has really one rival now and they stink in football. ACC never did itself justice with scheduling.
Losing Stanford not big deal for the Irish. Losing USC is . IMHO
(In response to this post by TerryD)
S
Stech
1y
of their scheduling is likely. Remember even though the ACC and B12 have a seat at the table, only the SEC and B1G will have votes in 2026 on the playoff rules. It’s like my Mom and Dad used to say at our kitchen table, you boys get to say what you think, and you get one vote. However, Mom and I get two votes for each one of your votes. That’s the SEC and B1G. They aren’t going to demand Notre Dame join a Conference, but they are going to make it a lot harder to make the playoff if they don’t, from a scheduling/strength of scheduling standpoint. If their strength of scheduling is weak, they could end up playing a high seed every year, and be on the road for the first round. Now if you want to join us, all you have to do is be in the top 4 of the conference. Your call.
PS It may take a few years before this all sinks in for the Big Donors like TerryD. 🤣
(In response to this post by TerryD)
1y
Understanding it and fighting like hell against it are two separate things
I'd rather ND be independent and be on the road or a low seed than surrender to the damn conferences, but that is just me.
(In response to this post by Stech)
1y
ND and all the Northeast schools(yes PSU) should be INDY. Hell the Lambert trophy tells story for NE football. Look at WVU then compared to now? Much better schedule of interest. Look at PSU. They were usually king of NE. Now pawn to MICH and PSU. I so miss those days.
(In response to this post by TerryD)
1y
I also think its a way to marginalize nd and their independence
(In response to this post by TerryD)
1y
Look at all of the series that conference realignment has killed or interrupted. (And let there be no doubt, realignment is the root cause here.) Penn State vs Pitt and all of the old eastern independents. The Backyard Brawl and all of WVU’s traditional rivalries. Oklahoma vs Nebraska. Bedlam (OU vs Oklahoma State). Kansas vs Mizzou. Arkansas vs Texas. Texas vs Texas A&M. Colorado vs all of its traditional Big 8 rivals. Virginia vs Maryland.
Notre Dame vs USC is not sacred. If college football is going to be burnt to the ground the flames are going to touch a blue blood now and then. I understand why it might upset ND and USC fans. But we may as well become numb to it all.
(In response to this post by TerryD)
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Stech
1y
than just 1 game and 1 school. I guess we will see where this goes schedule wise, but if there was 1 ND B1G game that seemed like it would sustain, it was this one. The rest have either died or are only played occasionally.
Since the SEC is likely going to 9 Conference games and 1 B1G game too, it could be bigger than 1 Conference too.
PS Virginia Tech needs to be relevant (10+ win seasons) again in football, to possibly take advantage of this situation.
** Edited by Stech at 5/20/2025, 8:11:18 AM
(In response to this post by Tailgate Guru)
1y
This ND fan is not upset.
I am okay if the Condoms pull the trigger. I have became tired of USC's threats about the game for a while now.
(In response to this post by Tailgate Guru)
I buy the travel reasons, but not the CFP reasons.
If the CFP goes to multiple AQs per conference (e.g. 4-4-2-2-1-1), then finishing in the Top 4 in the B1G is all the USC needs to do to get in. So a loss to ND really wouldn't hurt them. Where am I going wrong here?
That being said, I am rooting for this rivalry to be preserved.
(In response to this post by TerryD)
1y
(In response to this post by Maroon Baboon)
S
Stech
1y
could get them back. Use Thanksgiving weekend for in Conference Rivalry games. Some week Zero Out of Conference Rivalry games: (some will be new)
Oklahoma Nebraska
SMU TCU
Florida Florida State
Clemson South Carolina
Virginia Tech West Virginia
Virginia Maryland
Miami USCw
Notre Dame Michigan
Kansas Missouri
UCF South Florida
Georgia Georgia Tech
Texas Ohio State
Alabama Michigan
Auburn Michigan State
Iowa Iowa State
* Let Army Navy play the weekend after Thanksgiving, gives everyone a bye before the 16 team playoff starts the next week.
(In response to this post by SMU Pony)
V
VPI_1998
1y
not any more.
(In response to this post by SMU Pony)
1y
I miss the college football enquirer.
(In response to this post by TerryD)
1y
1. If I remember correctly, there has been talk about ending the series for a long time. I wonder what the involvement of the Big Ten office is in this, if any. I suppose they wouldn’t like USC playing Notre Dame in November, as that would complicate the conference schedule.
2. Would this development impact the Notre Dame-Stanford series? They are playing this year, but nothing is scheduled after that.
3. Who will Notre Dame play for its season-ending game? It has traditionally alternated between USC and Stanford. Clemson cannot replace them unless the Gamecocks discontinue their rivalry.
(In response to this post by TerryD)
1y
established annual rivalry game that weekend. BC, Syracuse, Pitt, Miami, and SMU are probably the most likely candidates. Although some years Duke and Wake have played Pitt or Miami for whatever reason. If the ACC brought back the 2-week Rivalry Week and allowed teams to finish the regular season the week before Thanksgiving, then that would give the ACC more scheduling flexibility.
(In response to this post by RandomAsianGuy)
1y
Ending with Miami/Stanford alternating makes the most sense in my opinion. Most likely ND will play six or more ACC games in most years.
ND exceptionalists won’t like it, but conferences are consolidating. They, like everyone else, are being impacted.
(In response to this post by VTHokie2000)
1y
though. Plus, the ACC may want make the Big Game a permanent fixture for rivalry week because Cal may not have an opponent when Stanford is scheduled to play Notre Dame. In the past Cal would play UCLA or some other CA team (i.e. Fresno State), but Cal may not have that flexibility anymore depending on what happens to the schedules for the other conferences. Hence why I thought it would be a rotation among a group of ACC schools. If it is BC one year, then Syracuse can either play Pitt or Miami (if Pitt is playing someone else).
(In response to this post by RandomAsianGuy)
1y
That article was actually really good because it was blunt about a couple of items.
Expanded playoff leads to canceling rivalry games OOC.
Playoffs and national title chasing is the top priority for coaches, more than any history, rivalries, fans, or the general sport.
ND-Clemson looks like a mix of new games and existing games. But only the existing games would count against the 5 annual ACC games. I had not kept track so that was helpful.
(In response to this post by TerryD)
1y
have a feeling that the networks aren't pulling the strings as much as we think they are.
(In response to this post by HokieAl)
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SMU Pony
1y
...Big Ten only has the rights to the game when it's in LA, and that's (probably) not going to be a Big Noon Kickoff at 9am local time (but who knows these days).
CBS and NBC should be the ones upset, as they would have likely gotten the game depending on who had the higher pick that week. NBC is getting triply screwed:
1. OSU, Penn State and Michigan limit the number of night games they can host past October
2. No USC-ND for their ND TV deal
3. No USC-ND for their Big Ten media deal
(In response to this post by Big12 guy)