USC-Notre Dame rivalry fight is not over: what the Trojans must do

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It’s a sad day in college football history. Ross Dellenger reported Monday that the storied rivalry series between USC and Notre Dame is being put on hold until at least the 2030 season. It’s a failure by both schools and the fans are the ones who will suffer as a result.

Star Wars analogy

To compare it to one of my favorite movie sagas, it’s a bit like watching the Empire use the Death Star to blow up the planet Alderaan in the first Star Wars film. When that happened, I’m sure the rebels and all victims of the Empire across the galaxy likely felt like the war was effectively over and the Empire had become basically invincible.

The long game

But a small, ragtag band of rebels knew the war wasn’t over; it was just beginning. They didn’t give up the fight.

That is what you must become, college football fan, whether you are a USC supporter, member of the Notre Dame faithful, or neutral observer who just loves the rivalry. A rebel who continues to fight.

Obviously, I am not talking about waging literal war on the university you support. Please do not storm your AD’s office. But there is a nonviolent fight of principle to be had, and everyone’s voices matter.

So let’s talk about what can be done to keep this rivalry going, especially from a USC perspective.

USC needs to return to tradition

Jen Cohen should call Stanford and Cal today.

Renewing the Stanford rivalry, especially, would soften the blow of losing the Notre Dame rivalry for Trojan fans. It was never as nationally relevant of a rivalry as USC-ND, but the Trojans have played the Cardinal more times than they have played Notre Dame.

USC must show that it still cares about tradition. Fans and donors should speak out and advocate for a renewal of either USC-Stanford or USC-Cal and the Weekender for the next five seasons while Trojan fans are dealing with the absence of Notre Dame on the schedule.

It would also sort of hit close to home for Notre Dame, which has a long lasting rivalry with Stanford as well that doesn’t span nearly as long as the Trojans-Cardinal rivalry.

Or, schedule a really tough opponent

If USC insists on keeping history in the past and doesn’t want to schedule Stanford or Cal, the Trojans must replace Notre Dame with a Power 4 non conference opponent.

It would make the game more exciting for fans than a likely blowout against an inferior team, and it would show fans that the end of the USC-Notre Dame rivalry wasn’t about wanting a weak non conference schedule for USC. In that situation, the Trojans improve their perceived strength of schedule for the College Football Playoff committee as well.

Again, this is something that USC faithful need to hold the university accountable for.

Notre Dame has already nailed its pivot

BYU is a really great opponent for Notre Dame to put on the schedule instead of USC for 2026 and 2027. First of all, the two teams were supposed to play in the Pop Tarts Bowl before Notre Dame backed out, so the Irish are still delivering their fans that matchup (eventually). The Cougars are a good team that just barely missed the CFP this year like the Irish.

There’s religious intrigue, both teams used to be independent. It positions Notre Dame to explore a Big 12 scheduling agreement should its agreement with the ACC fall through. It’s a good move.

Does it give them an overall scheduling edge over USC? Not exactly, because the Irish are not in a conference and their schedule still looks categorically weak compared to the Trojans’ in 2026. But as an isolated move, the Irish picked a good opponent, and put pressure on the Trojans to follow suit.

The next 5 years

Also, again, this rivalry isn’t dead. It’s a real shame that it’s even on pause, but if these schools get their act together, we could resume the rivalry in 2030.

Trojan fans and Irish fans need to not forget about this rivalry. They need to keep their memories of the rivalry fresh in their minds, and make sure they’re passing them on to friends, family and other loved ones. Keep talking about it, keep mourning the loss of it, and keep letting each university know loud and proud that you want it back in 2030.

With enough pressure from fans and donors, maybe the schools will be forced to finally reach a compromise.

Keep the rivalry alive off the field

And hey, just because the two teams aren’t going to play each other for a few years doesn’t mean the spirit of the rivalry has to die.

There’s still plenty to “compete” over on the internet despite these two teams not playing each other directly. Keep talking trash (in good faith, of course) about strength of schedules, independence, the direction of each university, hypothetical matchups, recruiting battles, everything. USC and Oklahoma have a great rivalry and almost none of it takes place on the field; The Trojans and Sooners have played each other only 9 times and haven’t squared off since 2005.

Again, this rivalry only truly dies if the fans let it. Keep the fire burning and the universities won’t be able to resist the windfall of bringing the rivalry back.

Let’s hope for a CFP matchup in the next five years

And hey, if these two teams won’t schedule a game against each other on purpose, let’s hope they’re forced to play each other in the College Football Playoff.

The bad blood would be boiling. The fans would be vindicated. And everyone would be treated to a great college football game to boot.

It’s hard to have hope in times like these, especially when that hope feels powerless. Just remember that fans do have a voice, and that we all have a role to play in keeping this rivalry going.

Fight on, and in hopefully a literal sense sometime in the near future, Beat the Irish.

This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC and Notre Dame put rivalry series on pause, but battle isn’t done

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