Southern California coach Lincoln Riley said Notre Dame is to blame for the longtime rivalry between the two schools coming to at least a temporary pause.
The schools, which first faced off in 1926, have met every season since 1947 with the exception of the 2020 season that was disrupted by COVID-19. They were scheduled to play in Los Angeles next season but that game is off after Notre Dame inked a home-and-home with BYU for the next two seasons.
Riley said the Fighting Irish didn’t take much time to reject the final proposal from USC athletic director Jen Cohen, who traveled to South Bend to try to broker a deal.
“We took Notre Dame at their word that they would play us anytime and anywhere,” Riley told reporters in San Antonio ahead of the Alamo Bowl matchup against TCU on Tuesday. “That proposal was rejected. Not only was it rejected, five minutes after we got the call, it was announced that they had scheduled another opponent (BYU), which I’ll give them credit. That might be the fastest scheduling act in college football history.”
When the Notre Dame-BYU series was announced on Dec. 22, the Fighting Irish and Trojans put out a joint statement.
“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 joint statement said. “The rivalry between our two schools is one of the best in all of sports, and we look forward to meeting again in the future.”
A resumption of the series is unlikely to occur before 2030.
“Had Notre Dame lived up to their word and played us anytime, anywhere, we would be playing in the next two years, and looking ahead after that and hopefully, continuing the series,” Riley said. “They did not follow through on it. Thus, we are not playing them the next couple years.”
According to reports, USC has expressed it no longer wants to host Notre Dame in late November and wanted the game be played earlier in the season. Games in the series at Notre Dame typically are played in October.
Riley said that Notre Dame has more flexibility in scheduling since it is an independent. The Trojans are in the Big Ten and have a conference slate to figure in while putting together a schedule.
“We at USC would love for the game to continue,” said Riley, “and we have no problem following through on our promises in the future.”
Riley is finishing up his fourth season with the No. 16 Trojans (9-3) with the battle against the Horned Frogs (8-4).
