Notre Dame Rivalry Truly In USC Trojans', Lincoln Riley's Best Interest?

In a season of change and adaptation, one of the most circulating questions for USC Trojans coach Lincoln Riley has been the future of the USC Notre Dame rivalry.

At this year’s Big Ten Media Days, Riley faced the question he’s been consistently asked, and delivered an answer with a lot of moving parts.

“I think there’s a million reasons why that we should very seriously as a college football community, that we should adopt the automatic qualifying in terms of the College Football Playoff,” Riley said. “This might be the most important one, right, is that we give every reason for college football to preserve nonconference games that mean a lot to the history of the game and to the fan bases and the former players and everybody that’s been associated with it.

"I’m very hopeful that we can get there, and I’m very hopeful that we play this game forever," he continued.

Lincoln Riley Marcus Freeman USC Trojans Notre Dame Fighting Irish Rivarly Game College Football Playoff Big Ten Conference — Jul 24, 2025; Las Vegas, NV, USA; USC head coach Lincoln Riley speaks to the media during the Big Ten NCAA college football media days at Mandalay Bay Resort. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images | Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images

The game has played for nearly a century and is known as one of the best college rivalries to date. The contract the two schools correctly maintain keeps the game alive through the 2026 season. What happens after? The answer remains unknown.

Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman expressed his views on the rivalry early in the offseason with a clear answer for all fans — Notre Dame wants to keep the rivalry for as long as both teams agree.

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“Before I ever got to Notre Dame, there's memories I have in my head of great plays in the USC-Notre Dame rivalry, and I think it's important to continue that rivalry," Freeman told Klatt on The Joel Klatt Show. "And so if they ask my opinion, I want to continuously play USC every year."

The rivalry remains a marquee in all aspects of each program. In the offseason, the Fighting Irish welcomed USC defensive lineman Elijah Hughes to their roster from the winter transfer portal, and the Trojans picked up Notre Dame safety Kennedy Urlacher this offseason and fits the talent on defensive coordinator D'Anton Lynn's defense well.

What Freeman also touched on was the signficance of the rivalry to the college football world -- noting that this rivalry is vital -- but cannot happen without being on the same page as USC.

"It takes both parties to tangle, right, and it’s got to fit both institutions and, you know, they’re in a conference and we’re not. When do we play? All of those different things. But, I think it’s important that we continue to have this rivalry," Freeman said.

In the second part of Riley's answer to the concerns of the rivalry, he let people know his firm want for the rivalry, is yes, but he also must do what is best for the job he was hired to do -- be the head coach of the USC Trojans Football Team.

"Do I want to play the game? Hell yeah, I want to play the game," Riley said. "When I decided the night at my house to take the USC job, my first thought was 'I get to coach in USC-Notre Dame.' So first thought. Because before coach, player, any of that, as a fan, the rivalry, all these rivalries mean a great deal to me. They mean a great deal to anybody that cares about college football. My allegiance and my loyalty is not to Notre Dame...It’s not to anybody else. I’m the head football coach at USC."