USC’s Lincoln Riley Blames Notre Dame for Opting Out of Rivalry Matchup

Riley blamed Notre Dame for not holding to its word on continuing the rivalry.

USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley opened up on the ending of his school’s rivalry with Notre Dame. He heaped blame on the Fighting Irish. / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

Lincoln Riley is done holding back on his side of the story as it relates to the ending of USC and Notre Dame’s rivalry.

On Monday, during a press conference ahead of the Alamo Bowl, Riley put the fault for ending the rivalry, which dates back to 1926 but will not be played in either of the next two seasons, squarely on the shoulders of Notre Dame.

Here’s Riley:

I think everybody knows how I feel about the game. I’ve said it multiple times that one of my first thoughts when I took the job at USC was getting to be a part of that rivalry. I have a deep respect for college football. I’ve been a part of some great rivalries, obviously this is right there up at the top.

It’s pretty simple. We both worked for months to try to find a solution. Notre Dame was very vocal about the fact that they would play us anytime, anywhere, and obviously, them not having a conference affiliation gives them an ability to be pretty flexible with their scheduling. Jen Cohen, our (athletic director), went back to Notre Dame roughly a couple of weeks ago with a scenario and a proposal that would extend the series for the next two years. And we took Notre Dame at their word that they would play us anytime, anywhere. 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. Which, I’ll give them credit, that might be the fastest scheduling act in college football history.

I know there’s been a lot of back-and-forth on it, I know college football has changed a lot, but the fact is very clear, and this can all be settled very quickly. Had Notre Dame lived up to their word and played us anytime, anywhere, we would be playing them the next two years... They did not follow through on it, thus we are not playing them the next couple years. We’re hopeful something can be worked out in the future, that would be fantastic. We at SC would love for the game to continue, and we have no problem following through on our promises in the future.

His full comments are below.

Lincoln Riley’s full comment on the #USC-Notre Dame rivalry game ending:

“Had Notre Dame lived up to their word and played us anytime, anywhere we’d be playing them the next two years.” @ThePeristyle pic.twitter.com/bhSc94WfYI

— Chris Treviño (@ChrisNTrevino) December 29, 2025

According to reports, USC had pitched pivoting the long-standing rivalry to earlier in the season, which would better accommodate their now grueling travel schedule as members of the Big Ten. Notre Dame wanted to stick to the schedule which the rivalry had held for years, with Notre Dame home games being played in mid-October and USC home games in late November. Neither side would budge, and the game was lost for at least the next two years.

There is more than enough blame to go around in this situation. USC’s move to the Big Ten, with its nine-game conference schedule, has made fitting Notre Dame into the middle of the season far more difficult. USC could have kept things the same and weathered the brutal schedule, but instead looked for flexibility.

If Notre Dame truly wanted to continue the rivalry, it could have accommodated USC’s needs for flexibility. These days, plenty of non-conference rivalries have moved to earlier in the season. The Apple Cup, the Cy-Hawk Trophy, the Backyard Brawl, the Civil War, the Border War, and more have been transferred to September. Instead of living in that reality, the Irish insisted on keeping the rivalry on the same schedule. That created an impasse.

Perhaps most at fault is conference realignment. Teams are increasingly loyal to their conferences as opposed to long-standing rivalries. This is yet another example of a beloved college football tradition being ruined by the new world we’re all living in.

USC and Riley are right to be ticked off, as is Notre Dame. We’re all in that boat, too. It stinks, but it’s a sign of the times.

Here’s hoping this is just a brief pause in the rivalry and not the end.

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