USC Makes Another Offer To Save Rivalry Game With Notre Dame: 'Hopeful' Deal Can Be Reached

The rivalry game between the USC Trojans and Notre Dame Fighting Irish is one of college football's greatest traditions. It's also been on the chopping block as a potential casualty of conference realignment and the expanded playoff.

With SC now in a superconference, the need for a non-conference game against a perennially difficult opponent was significantly lessened. Particularly with when the game against the Irish is typically played. When Notre Dame hosts in South Bend, it's played in October. When SC hosts in LA, it's at the very end of the season, typically on the Saturday of Thanksgiving weekend.

The agreement between the two schools is set to expire at the end of the 2025 season, and with negotiations ongoing, and some discouraging comments about future plans, fans have been concerned that the game would officially end after 95 meetings. But those concerns might thankfully be coming to an end.

A new report from The Los Angeles Times has confirmed that SC has made another offer to Notre Dame for a "multiyear" extension to the series. With some changes.

LOS ANGELES - Wide receiver Makai Lemon #6 of the USC Trojans catches the ball during a game between Notre Dame Fighting Irish and University of Southern California at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on November 30, 2024. (Photo by Melinda Meijer/ISI Photos/Getty Images)

USC AD Says They're Hopeful Of Continuing Series

The Times spoke to USC athletic director Jenn Cohen, who told them that they're "really hopeful" they can get a deal done with Notre Dame to keep the series going.

"We’re trying to extend the series," Cohen said. "This is an important series for us and for our fans and for our program, and hopefully we get to a resolution that supports that and is in the best interest of our program."

The disagreement has mostly stemmed from the travel and timing issues inherent in the rivalry. With SC now in the Big Ten, road trips to the Midwest are frequent. An additional, non-conference, trip, has other negative impacts every other season. In 2025, for example, the Trojans will play four games on the road in six weeks, including that trip to South Bend.

As a result, SC wants to move the game to September, ensuring that the trip doesn't come in the middle of a grueling conference schedule. For their part, Notre Dame can choose how it schedules, ensuring that the Irish don't overburden themselves around the SC game. Cohen said as much in her interview.

"They have a lot more flexibility in scheduling than we do," Cohen said. "We’re in a bigger conference that doesn’t have the same level of ability to protect us in the way they schedule us for that type of game."

"It’s not very typical that a P4 school would travel back and forth across the country for a nonconference game in the middle of October," she added. "Show me who else is doing that and doing the kind of travel we’re doing. It’s a cool tradition to play at the end of the year, but then those are back-to-back rivalry games with a conference championship — and our opponent doesn’t play in a conference championship."

She has a point.

Marcus Freeman has previously said that he'd play the game against SC anytime, anywhere, which, well, if that's true, the Irish should gladly accept playing in September. The fact that they haven't already suggests that might have been some level of posturing. For Notre Dame, the reported sticking point is that SC hadn't yet offered a multi-year extension. Now it has.

There's little doubt that SC would increase its odds of getting to the College Football Playoff by ending the rivalry game with Notre Dame. Yes, it helps strength of schedule, but winning, say, 10 games instead of nine is extremely valuable. Or winning 11 instead of 10 and going to the Big Ten Championship game. But it helps recruiting, it's important for fans, and a win over Notre Dame will always carry weight. Sounds like the ball is now in the Irish's court.