There are few things in CFB more sacred than the USC–Notre Dame rivalry. Since 1926, the USC Trojans and Notre Dame Fighting Irish have gone helmet-to-helmet almost every year, weathering world wars, shifting conference landscapes, and the chaotic rise of NIL and the transfer portal. But in 2025, a century of history may be drifting toward the chopping block—not due to war, but strategy. Lincoln Riley, now the face of USC football, stands at the center of a brewing controversy. The Irish are looking to get a multi-year deal done with USC, but the Trojans are not agreeing to it.
Rather than committing to a multi-year renewal with Notre Dame, USC has floated a one-year extension through the 2026 season. It’s a stopgap solution—one that keeps the door cracked but hardly feels like a handshake of good faith. On the surface, it’s business. Underneath, it feels like a warning shot. Enter former USC captain and FOX analyst Petros Papadakis, who didn’t hold back when he lit up Riley’s decision-making on 750 The Game.
“And that’s kind of the beauty of USC–Notre Dame, is that it transcends conference realignment, it transcends the NIL, and it transcends all of these different twists and turns in the sport,” Papadakis said. “If it could survive world wars, it should be able to survive the selfishness and the absolute myopic nature of the era we live in. It’s ridiculous to think that it wouldn’t, because Lincoln Riley doesn’t like it. Who the hell is Lincoln Riley?”
Lincoln Riley might not be trying to cancel the game outright, but the optics are brutal. With the College Football Playoff model on the brink of another overhaul—possibly expanding from 12 to 14 or even 16 teams—USC wants clarity before signing on for the long haul. One major sticking point?
Whether the Big Ten will secure four automatic qualifying spots in the playoff format. If it does, the calculus changes for USC. If not, why saddle yourself with an annual heavyweight game that doesn’t benefit your postseason chances? The Trojans also proposed moving the game to earlier in the season, hoping to ease a grueling Big Ten travel slate. But Notre Dame wasn’t biting, and the impasse continues.
Petros Papadakis ripped Lincoln Riley for trying to wiggle out of the USC-Notre Dame rivalry.
Petros is on my show now on @750TheGame and @FoxSportsEugene.
Listen: pic.twitter.com/ZfRiEOAVon
— John Canzano (@johncanzanobft) May 22, 2025
Notre Dame AD Pete Bevacqua couldn’t have been clearer when asked about the potential end of the rivalry. “I think Southern Cal and Notre Dame should play every year for as long as college football is played,” he told Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde. “SC knows how we feel.” USC’s messaging has been softer, more political.
Associate ADCody Worsham said, “We want the USC–Notre Dame rivalry to continue, which is why we offered an extension of our agreement. It’s a special game to our fans and our institution. We will continue to work with Notre Dame on scheduling future games.”
Still, you can’t ignore what’s left unsaid. USC has lost two straight to the Irish and holds a 37-52-5 all-time record in the rivalry. These games aren’t just physically punishing—they’ve been emotionally draining and, at times, playoff-derailing. Add that to the Big Ten travel load and a looming playoff expansion, and the romance of tradition starts losing the tug-of-war with the logic of modern football calculus.
There’s still time for resolution. But with Notre Dame pushing for a multi-year commitment and USC content with a single-season band-aid, the heart of the matter seems bigger than logistics. It’s a clash of old-world reverence and new-world pragmatism.
Trojans vs. Irish? Lincoln Riley says it’s tradition vs. titles
One legendary history and enough bad blood to fill the Coliseum. But with the Trojans currently riding a two-year skid in the series and CFB realignment changing everything but the shape of the football, Lincoln Riley is keeping it real about the future of this iconic matchup.
“I would love to (continue the USC-Notre Dame series). I know it means a lot to a lot of people. The purist in you, no doubt,” Riley said during Big Ten Media Day. But then he added a dose of blunt honesty: “Now if you get in a position where you got to make a decision on what’s best for SC to help us win a national championship, then you got to look at it.” If the Irish get in the way of the trophy chase, Riley’s not afraid to hit pause on tradition.
He went deeper, reflecting on the broader shift in the sport. “It was more of a regional game,” Riley said. “There’s still the fan in us, right? There’s still the purists in us that love that part of college football.” While the 2025 clash at Notre Dame Stadium is still on, beyond that? The rivalry might just become… a memory.
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