Lincoln Riley Speaks Candidly on USC's Schedule Agreement With Notre Dame

On Monday, Aug. 3, the USC Trojans announced that the historic rivalry series between USC and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish will be renewed starting in 2030 with four games currently scheduled.

According to the release from the Trojans, USC and Notre Dame will play in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in the first week of the 2030 season. The next year in 2031, USC will travel to South Bend, Indiana, to face the Fighting Irish on the road. Specific dates for the matchups in 2032 and 2033 are not yet determined, but they will take place within the first three weeks of the season, per USC.

Lincoln Riley on Notre Dame Rivalry

usc trojans lincoln riley notre dame fighting irish marcus freeman pete bevacqua jen cohen rivalry schedule update series — Jul 28, 2026; Chicago, IL, USA; USC Football head coach Lincoln Riley speaks during Media Days at Hilton Chicago. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

At USC's media day on Monday, Riley spoke about the schedule agreement with Notre Dame.

"We felt like the best thing for our program was to play this game early in the season. We're a part of a conference, we have a conference schedule to answer to. We don't make our own schedule... It made more sense for us to play this game in a traditional non-conference window. As I've said always, we want to play this game. That has never changed. That will never change. But we also want to stand up for USC and do what's right for us," Riley said, per USC Trojans on SI's Kendell Hollowell.

Lincoln Riley on renewing USC-Notre Dame rivalry: “We felt like the best thing for our program was to play this game early in the season. We're a part of a conference, we have a conference schedule to answer to. We don't make our own schedule.”
— Kendell Hollowell (@KHollowell_) August 3, 2026

USC Trojans coach turned heads at Big Ten Media Days with his response to a question on Notre Dame and the current pause in the rivalry.

"Nothing has changed from my vantage point," Riley said. "We want to play the game, I want to play the game, we would be playing the game had some things come true that were said."

The comments stoked the flames of an already heated rivalry between both sides, with both programs finger pointing at and placing blame on the other. In the end, the USC coach seemingly gets his wish starting back up in 2030.

With the news, USC athletic director Jen Cohen released a statement on the extension of the rivalry series with Notre Dame.

“USC’s historic rivalry with Notre Dame holds a special place in the history of college football, and we are happy to resume a series that means so much to the entire Trojan Family. It remains important for us to play this game early in the season, as it allows us to schedule competitively with our Big Ten peers and takes into account the health and best interests of our student-athletes and program. We are excited for our fans, and we look forward to more memorable matchups and unforgettable games between the Trojans and the Irish," Cohen said in the release.

Without Notre Dame on the schedule in 2026, the Trojans still have a number of marquee matchups including conference games against Oregon, Ohio State, and Indiana.

USC vs. Notre Dame Rivalry Moving To September

The issue seems resolved with the USC vs. Notre Dame rivalry becoming an earlier part of the college football calendar. While fans may miss the classic late-season matchup between the two sides, the expanded playoff and USC's move to the Big Ten likely prompted the shifting of the rivalry game.

Moving forward for the Trojans, Riley and company will now have a high-stakes, competitive matchup before entering Big Ten play. While the early competition has a chance to hurt either team's resume, they also have an opportunity to measure themselves up against each other early on in the season.

Both Notre Dame and USC enter the 2026 season with hopes of making the College Football Playoff, and the only way the two programs face off before 2030 is likely in a CFP game.

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