Notre Dame Earns Respect From USC Trojans' Matt Leinart Before National Championship

Former USC Trojans quarterback Matt Leinart weighed in on USC rival Notre Dame Fighting Irish, who will battle the Ohio State Buckeyes in the 2024-25 National Championship Game.

"That was an incredible game," Leinart wrote on Twitter/X after Notre Dame beat Penn State, 27-24, in the Orange Bowl. "Congrats to Notre Dame Football. They are tough, physical, resilient and just never go away."

Notre Dame will need to channel that toughness against the Buckeyes, who are massive 9.5-point favorites to beat Notre Dame and become national champions on Jan. 20 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.

Matt Leinart (left) listens to Urban Meyer during FOX's Big Noon Kickoff football pregame show at Texas Tech University, Saturday, November 9, 2024 at Jones AT&T Stadium. | Nathan Giese/Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The USC and Notre Dame rivalry began in 1926 and is considered one of the fiercest in college football. Both teams have had massive success, combining for 24 national championships and 15 Heisman Trophy winners (including Leinart in 2004.)

However, recently the rivalry has been quite lopsided, with Notre Dame beating USC in seven of the last nine matchups.

The two teams are trending in opposite directions under their respective coaches, who were each hired in 2021.

Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman is in his third full season leading the Fighting Irish, and he already has them competing for a national title.

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The good news? The USC Trojans 2024 football season ended on a high note with a 35-31 win over the Texas A&M Aggies in the Las Vegas Bowl. The bad news? The Trojans finished with a 7-6 record, the worst in the Lincoln Riley era and missed the College Football Playoff.

Also notable, in the last two recruiting cycles, Notre Dame has signed a class that ranks higher than USC's according to the 247Sports Composite.

If Notre Dame can upset Ohio State to become national champions, the stark contrast between the Fighting Irish and Trojans will become even more evident.

Leinart has been critical of Riley and open about the issues surrounding USC but recently took to social media to support the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff after the seeding format has been critiqued.

"I'm really tired of just the negative narrative around the College Football Playoff," Leinart said on the Throwbacks Show. "There's not a fair system. There's just not. It's impossible in college. NFL has their seedings and system and all that, and it works. College is different because there's a million teams, and it's a 12-team playoff, which I think at some point is going to get to 16."

Dec 2, 2022; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Southern California Trojans former quarterback Matt Leinart attends the Pac-12 Champonship game at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

"I think there's nothing better than than college sports and college football, I wish we could all just sit and enjoy these games without the narrative of - this team should get in and this and my coaches are going to talk like things and things happen," Leinart said. "But I see it so much online. I'm just like I actually tweeted it out this week. I was just like, can we just can we just enjoy these kids playing? I don't care if they make money. Like, can we enjoy these games and these kids playing and the passion they have and the fans and the passion they have?"

Certinaly, Notre Dame fans are not complaining about their path through the CFP. It's a moot point for USC, who must regain relevancy in the Big Ten conference to contend in the College Football Playoff in 2025.

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