Notre Dame's Underwhelming Replacement Named by USC

Notre Dame and USC have combined to make one of college football's best and most fierce rivalries for the last century.

However, while USC has long prided itself on putting together a difficult out of conference schedule each year, that has changed under current head coach Lincoln Riley.

As a result, the Notre Dame and USC rivalry was put on hiatus earlier this off-season.

When that announcement came out, Notre Dame quickly announced a home-and-home series with BYU, a team that has gone a combined 23-4 over the last two years.

USC didn't initially announce a replacement opponent for the 2026 season, but did make it clear that it would play a Week 0 game. Well, now we know who that opponent is.

USC Announces Week 0 Opponent to Replace Notre Dame

After weeks of waiting, we know who USC is replacing Notre Dame with.

None other than traditional powerhouse San Jose State.

Yes, San Jose State. A Group of Six squad that went all of 3-9 last season.

This is a far cry from the USC that college football used to know.

Look no further than 2004: That USC team was a machine, and scheduled very tough out of conference. It started the year in Washington D.C. taking on Virginia Tech, traveled to BYU, and also played Notre Dame to close the year (and mind you only the No. 1 and No. 2 teams in the country got a chance to play for a national championship back then).

This year's USC non-conference schedule:
Week 0: vs. San Jose State
Week 1: vs. Fresno State
Week 2: vs. Louisiana

For a Notre Dame fan, this is like seeing an ex-girlfiend that "found herself" after breaking up with you, but in finding herself suddenly has purple and green hair and spends her freetime posting political memes on Facebook.

Will Notre Dame and USC Restart Sacred Rivalry?

If it wasn't clear what USC was trying to accomplish by running from Notre Dame, it should be now.

My question is: what ultimately happens between the two rivals? Does the series restart?

The problem when you have people like Lincoln Riley and USC athletic director Jen Cohen in charge, who have no authentic connection to USC, decisions like this are made. History no longer matters, just trying to get to the playoff does - even though difficult out of conference schedules have been USC's bread and butter to doing that previously.

My guess is that as long as Lincoln Riley is head coach at USC, Notre Dame won't be on the schedule. Perhaps if he gets the boot and Cohen stays, maybe there is a chance, but my money would be on it only possibly restarting once both are gone from their current posts.

My biggest question is what happens to USC if it fails to make the College Football Playoff after doing this? How hot do seats get in Southern Cal?