Lincoln Riley blames Notre Dame for pause in rivalry with USC

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Last week, it was announced that the storied USC-Notre Dame football rivalry will be put on pause for the foreseeable future. After playing each other nearly every season for the past century, the two schools will not face off again until at least 2030.

Over the past week, there has been plenty of discussion regarding who is most to blame for the rivalry coming to an end. In his Alamo Bowl introductory press conference Monday, USC’s head coach head coach Lincoln Riley did not hold back, ripping the Irish for their role in the series being put on hiatus.

“One of my first thoughts when I took the job at USC was getting to be a part of that rivalry,” Riley said. “I have a deep respect for college football, been a part of some really great rivalries. Obviously this is right there up at the top.

“It’s pretty simple. We both worked for months to try to find solution. Notre Dame was very vocal about the fact thatthey would play us anytime, anywhere. Obviously them not having a conference affiliation gives them an ability to be pretty flexible with their scheduling. We went back, Jen Cohen, our A.D., went back to Notre Dame roughly a couple of weeks ago with a scenario and a proposal that would extend the series for the next two years. We took Notre Dame at their word that they would play us anytime, anywhere.

“That proposal was rejected. Not only was it rejected. Not only was it rejected, but five minutes after we got the call, it was announced they scheduled another opponent, which I’ll give them credit, that might be the fastest scheduling act in college football history.

“I know there’s a lot of back-and-forth on it. I know college football has changed a lot. But the fact is very, very clear, this can all be settled very quickly. Had Notre Dame lived up to their word and played us anytime, anywhere, we would be playing the next two years, and looking ahead after that, hopefully continuing the series.

“They did not follow through on it, thus we are not playing them the next couple years. We’re hopeful something can be worked out in the future. That would be fantastic. We at SC would love for the game to continue. We have no problem following through on our promises in the future.”

Right now, we still do not know a ton of details about how the negotiations between the two schools unfolded. It will be interesting to see if more details come out in the future, and if Riley’s comments about Notre Dame prove to be correct.

This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC football’s Lincoln Riley blames Notre Dame for pause in rivalry

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