The annual Notre Dame-USC rivalry game could be on life support.
On Tuesday, the Fighting Irish announced a 12-year regular-season series with Clemson, which will run from the 2027-2038 seasons. That coincides with the last game between Notre Dame and USC, which is set for 2026.
In February, USC athletic director Jennifer Cohen spoke with The Athletic about the rivalry dating back to 1926.
Cohen noted that the Trojans are in the expanded Big Ten conference and arguably the nation’s best after winning the past two national titles. However, they might not have an appetite for an out-of-conference yearly game against the Fighting Irish.
“We’re now playing in a conference where we fly back and forth across the country every other week,” Cohen reasoned. (Gee, maybe USC should have considered that before it torched the Pac-12.)
“So we remain in conversations with Notre Dame about the series,” Cohen continued. “I think we’re clear to each other [that] we’re going to continue to evaluate what’s best, and it’s my job to evaluate what’s best for our student-athletes and our program.”
Except for the 2020 season, which was altered by COVID-19, Notre Dame and USC have played every season since the end of World War II.
It makes more sense for the Trojans to want to discontinue the rivalry. In the series’ 95-game history, the Irish lead, 52-38-5. They’ve also won six of the last seven meetings, including the past two by a combined score of 97-55.
Notre Dame and Clemson don’t have nearly as rich a history. The programs have met eight times, with the first in 1977. They’ve played each other six times over the last 10 seasons, with the Irish going 2-4 during that span.
While it would be disappointing for the Notre Dame-USC rivalry to be put on hold following the 100th anniversary of their first meeting, it makes sense why the Irish would gravitate toward the Tigers despite them being a tougher matchup.
Clemson is an ACC power and made the CFP last season after winning its conference. Meanwhile, USC has never made the CFP and has more losing seasons (two) than 10-win seasons (one) since 2018.
With the strength of schedule a significant factor in the College Football Playoff committee’s evaluation of the country’s top teams, Notre Dame should benefit more from playing Clemson, regardless of whether it wins or loses (barring a blowout).
It’s a shame that the budding Notre Dame-Clemson series could come at the expense of perhaps college football’s best out-of-conference rivalry.
