Historic college football rivalry ends after schools fail to reach agreement

One of college football's most famous rivalry games won't be played for at least the next few years after the schools failed to reach a new deal.

Ron Chenoy | Imagn

One of college football’s greatest rivalry games is set to come to an abrupt end as it was about to celebrate its 100th anniversary.

The annual Notre Dame vs. USC football rivalry game is no more after the schools failed to reach an agreement on future matchups, ending one of college football’s most recognizable traditions, according to Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger.

Representatives from both schools had been involved in negotiations to preserve the rivalry over the last several months, but could not agree on terms going forward, at least temporarily ending a football series that had been ongoing since 1926.

Gone, but not for good?

Yes, there is some hope that we could see USC and Notre Dame on the same field in the future.

Administrators from both schools did reach an agreement to resurrect the series as soon as the 2030 season, according to the report.

Until now, just a world war and a global pandemic had prevented Notre Dame and USC from playing each other every season, but now the pressures of the modern college football season, and its postseason format, appear to have played a role.

Whose fault is this?

Concerns about scheduling and how the game would affect College Football Playoff positioning were the decisive factors in bringing an end to the rivalry, according to the report.

Most of that concern seemed to arise from the USC side of the equation, which felt that certain precedents established by the selection committee in punishing teams for losses put the program in a disadvantageous position.

USC hinted this would come

USC head coach Lincoln Riley signaled as much when speaking on the future of the rivalry last year.

“There [have] been a lot of teams that sacrifice rivalry games,” Riley told reporters at Big Ten Media Days last summer.

“As we get into this playoff structure, and if it changes or not, we get into this new conference, we’re going to learn some about this as we go and what the right and best track is to winning a national championship, that’s going to evolve.”

Still, even amid those comments, reps from USC signaled a desire to keep the Notre Dame rivalry, and Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman was adamant on keeping the matchup, too, reflecting the position of his school.

Instead, Notre Dame is poised to finalize a home-and-home series with BYU over the next two seasons that will take the place of USC on its schedule, according to the Yahoo report.

We saw this coming

A recent Sports Illustrated report indicated that USC was hesitant to pledge itself to a long-term agreement with Notre Dame, citing concerns over the future of the College Football Playoff format and the Trojans’ existing schedule and travel demands.

“I want to play USC every year because I think it’s great for college football, that rivalry, USC-Notre Dame,” Marcus Freeman said.

“Before I even got to Notre Dame, everybody watched that game. Everybody remembers moments from that game that just stick out in their mind.”

Another college football tradition bites the dust

Losing a historic rivalry of this pedigree would be another stark reminder of the very strict conditions that schools have to work in in a new environment where playoff selection, and appeasing the College Football Playoff committee, is king.

Known as the greatest intersectional rivalry in college football, USC and Notre Dame have met almost every year since 1926, with World War II and the Covid pandemic being the only exceptions.

Now, to that list of historical anomalies, the very format of modern college football itself could be the decisive factor that puts this great rivalry on the shelf.

(Yahoo)