Former USC Trojans quarterback Matt Leinart has voiced his opinion about the Trojans' rivalry with Notre Dame having hit a snag. Unlike other pundits, Leinart is okay with the decision.
Ex-USC legend has surprising reaction to iconic Notre Dame football rivalry being paused originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The USC Trojans-Notre Dame football rivalry is no longer, at least for the immediate future.
While this deeply angered former stars like wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson, ex-Heisman Trophy-winning, former national champion and NFL quarterback Matt Leinart agree with his alma mater that the rivalry should take a break.
According to Leinart, there is a bigger method to the madness than people can comprehend.
“Call me lame but I’m going to trust a school that’s produced more Heisman winners than anyone else in history and 11 National Championships to do what’s right for the program,” Leinart tweeted. "Texas and A&M played forever and then they didn’t. Same with Utah and BYU. It was a bummer but the world didn’t end. Here’s hoping this is a momentary pause just like those. Fight on and Merry Christmas.”
Both schools crafted a statement about the decision right before Christmas.
"USC and Notre Dame recognize how special our rivalry is to our fans, our teams, and college football, and our institutions will continue working towards bringing back The Battle for the Jeweled Shillelagh," the statement read. "The rivalry between our two schools is one of the best in all of sport, and we look forward to meeting again in the future."
Entering the pause, Notre Dame leads the all-time series 53-37-5.
It is going to be interesting to see if the rivalry ever comes back, as it has been a college football staple for a century.
The Trojans play the TCU Horned Frogs in the Alamo Bowl Tuesday, while the Fighting Irish opted out of their bowl game in response to being left out of the College Football Playoff.
Category: General Sports
