Despite months of negotiations, USC and Notre Dame officials have failed to reach an agreement on playing what would be the 97th game in the series next year.
One of college football’s most storied rivalry series is going on hiatus.
Despite months of negotiations, USC and Notre Dame officials have failed to reach an agreement on playing what would be the 97th game in the series next year and are now each exploring replacement opponents for 2026, multiple sources tell Yahoo Sports.
In fact, the Irish are finalizing a two-year agreement with BYU to play the Cougars in 2026-27. Next year’s game will be in October in Provo, Utah, before a return game the next season in South Bend, Indiana.
The temporary end of the USC-Notre Dame series is a jarring move and something that’s only happened once in nearly 80 years. Next year’s game would have been the 79th consecutive meeting, excluding the COVID-impacted 2020 season. The series began in 1926 and was only paused for a three-year stretch during World War II, before the arrival of the pandemic.
Steeped in great players, colorful coaches and rich tradition, the Irish and Trojans hold a pedigree unlike any in the sport’s history, as they’ve combined to win 24 national championships, 15 Heisman trophies and have produced more than 1,000 NFL draftees — believed to be the highest combined total of any college football rivalry series.
Yet, scheduling complications and College Football Playoff implications were at the root of the series’ demise, according to those familiar with the negotiations.
The latest round of discussions among administrators at each school fizzled over the last two weeks — a stunning about-face. In fact, the two programs were on the verge of finalizing a two-year extension of their agreement in late November, with USC agreeing to host Notre Dame next season on the traditional date after Thanksgiving and the Irish hosting in 2027.
However, USC officials determined that the game date was not ideal considering past decisions from the CFP selection committee in punishing schools for losses, especially those late in the season.
The latest discussions between Trojans athletic director Jen Cohen and ND athletic director Pete Bevacqua centered around a possible game next year on Week Zero, though that did not materialize. The two administrators have agreed to work to restart the series as soon as 2030, those with knowledge of their talks told Yahoo Sports.
Meanwhile, the Irish are expected to soon announce their new series with Big 12 member BYU — an interesting development considering what transpired earlier this month. Notre Dame opted out of a bowl game after missing the College Football Playoff. The Irish would have played BYU in the Pop-Tarts Bowl.
The team’s decision to opt out, as well as critical comments from Bevacqua over the CFP selection, triggered a backlash from several administrators within college sports, especially Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark, who publicly chided Bevacqua’s comments two weeks ago.
Notre Dame’s schedule and position in the CFP is a subject of constant consternation among those in college athletics as the school remains only one of two independent programs in FBS (UConn is the other) and has a guaranteed path to the CFP in future years if they finish inside the top 12 in the rankings. The Irish play five ACC games each season in an agreement with that league, have annual traditional games against Stanford (ACC) and Navy, as well as normally playing USC along with one or two other Big Ten programs.
The Irish haven’t necessarily shied away from big matchups.
As part of the program’s Shamrock Series, Notre Dame kicks off next season with Wisconsin at Lambeau Field and plays Purdue and Michigan State. The Irish recently struck a 10-year, annual scheduling agreement to Clemson, assuring the two programs meet for the next decade — with or without the ACC deal — and they’ve played Texas A&M each of the last two seasons.
Category: General Sports
