USC, Notre Dame release statement vowing to renew rivalry in the future

One of the more unique rivalries in college football is between USC and Notre Dame. The USC football program has been the premier powerhouse on the West Coast, while the Notre Dame football program has been one of the best programs in the Midwest. However, due to the ever-changing landscape, these two are going on hiatus from playing each other after they failed to come to an extended agreement.

The two sides were trying to work out an extension to the rivalry series, but neither team could reach a new agreement, according to Yahoo Sports college football reporter Ross Dellenger. After the news came out, both schools issued a joint statement saying they recognize how special their historic rivalry is and are hopeful they will meet again soon.

“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 says. “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.”

These two teams last played in October in South Bend, Indiana, with the Fighting Irish winning, 34-24. It will be the last game between the two programs until 2030 at the earliest.

The USC and Notre Dame rivalry began in 1926 and has been played every year except 1943, 1944, and 1945 (when the game was cancelled during World War II) and 2020 (when the Pac-12 cancelled all non-conference games due to the COVID-19 pandemic).

Notre Dame leads the all-time series between the two programs, 53-37-5. The two programs have combined to win 24 national championships, have 15 Heisman Trophy winners, and have produced more than 1,000 players drafted to the NFL.

As both programs worked to find an extension, a short-term one seemed most likely. However, the sticking point was when the game was played. USC wanted to play the game in September, which was a big difference from playing it in South Bend in October and in Los Angeles in November. Notre Dame wanted to keep the game as-is.

That ultimately became a sticking point, too much to overcome, since USC is in the Big Ten now and wanted to avoid an additional long-distance road trip every other year in October. Head coach Lincoln Riley indicated that he also wanted the rivalry to continue, but it was about what was best for the Trojans.

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