USC vs. Notre Dame Rivalry History
Rivalry fuels college football.
The USC vs. Notre Dame rivalry is the longest intersectional rivalry in the country. The 92nd matchup is set to take place on October 23 at 7:30 pm. ET.
This one dates back to 1926 when very few schools in the midwest wanted to play Notre Dame. The team was forced to travel by train to play different schools across the country. One version of the story is that the coaches wives met at an event, hit it off and then came up with the idea to play each other. Another version, is that the two schools wanted to play each other simply because it would be good for college football.
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The first game was played on December 4, 1926 with the Fighting Irish winning 13-12. The teams have played every year except a three year hiatus during WW2 and last year during the COVID-19 pandemic. The 2,099 miles of land does not stop the two teams from putting up a good fight. The series record is 49-36 favoring Notre Dame plus five ties.
The winner of this matchup will get year long possession of the Jeweled Shillelagh. The shillelagh is a Gaelic war club made of oak or blackthorn saplings from Ireland. It has ruby-adorned Trojan heads with the year and game score representing USC victories, and emerald-studded shamrocks, which represent Notre Dame wins.
USC hopes to break Notre Dame’s current three game win streak and gain their first win in South Bend since 2011.
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