Acknowledging that it is currently very much en vogue to berate Notre Dame, the Irish don’t deserve the brunt of the hate for this week’s news that the rivalry with USC is going on an indefinite break.
This is about Lincoln Riley, who once again showed college football that he’s one of the softest figures in the sport.
“The rivalry between our 2 schools is one of the best in all of sport,” a joint statement from the programs said this week. In the same breath, they ended a rivalry that has been played every year* for nearly 8 decades.
(*They didn’t play in 2020 because of a certain event.)
There are plenty of reasons that have been given for why the rivalry ended. According to a report from Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger, the schools were nearing a 2-year extension of their agreement in late November that would have given us November games over the next 2 seasons.
A report from The Los Angeles Times’ Ryan Kartje stated that USC, which preferred an earlier date, was ready to compromise and play later in the season until it learned of Notre Dame’s agreement with the major conferences that would guarantee a College Football Playoff spot going forward if it ranked in the top 12. News of that guarantee, according to Kartje, caused USC to flip its stance and demand a Week 0 meeting.
USC athletic director Jen Cohen reportedly gave Notre Dame an ultimatum last week — play the game in Week 0 or not at all. Notre Dame called earlier this week to decline the offer altogether.
From Kartje’s reporting:
To USC officials the (CFP) agreement felt like “a material advantage” to the Irish, whose place as an independent and scheduling flexibility already afforded them a considerable edge in positioning for the playoff over other programs, like USC, that are tethered to a conference.
USC also had concerns about the CFP selection committee hitting schools hard for late-season rivalry game losses. Early season rivalry game losses, however, typically have been less of a hindrance for teams in playoff contention.
Notre Dame is not blameless. Notre Dame’s insistence on remaining independent while simultaneously demanding the luxuries afforded to those who belong to the toughest leagues has eroded all public sympathy toward the university. There is no defense for the school’s public pouting since being excluded from the CFP, and the decision to sit out bowl season is softer than Biff Poggi’s midsection.
But USC’s claim that it was ready to “compromise” until learning of Notre Dame’s CFP protection is absurd.
It’s awfully convenient. And it makes no sense.
Remember, we’ve been talking about the future of this rivalry for well over a year. Riley, the Trojans’ head coach, began this by repeatedly casting doubt on the series, talking out of both sides of his mouth, saying that he’d like to play Notre Dame but always adding that it needed to make sense for USC. With Riley, you read between the lines. The Trojans shouldn’t play Notre Dame because they play in the Big Ten. The Trojans shouldn’t play Notre Dame late in the season because they play a rugged Big Ten schedule.
“It’s a new era. There are some changes that we’ve all just gotta accept, because it’s just part of it right now,” Riley said on a podcast back in May.
Riley said during the season he hopes Notre Dame and USC continue playing each other. At Big Ten Media Days before the season, Riley was asked about the rivalry and said, “Hell yeah,” when asked if he wanted it to continue, and said the game was “one of the reasons I came here.”
But…
“But, also, my allegiance and my loyalty is not to Notre Dame, and it’s not to anybody else. I’m the head football coach at USC, and I’m going to back USC, and I’m going to do everything possible that I can in my power to make USC as good as it can, and not going to let anything stand in between that,” Riley continued. “I’m very hopeful we can get to a point where it makes sense.”
Let’s be very clear about one thing.
If Riley wanted to continue playing Notre Dame, USC would be working with Notre Dame to continue playing the game. This isn’t like a conference switch. If a coach feels a game is or is not in his program’s best interest, he’s going to voice that concern to his athletic director and expect action.
The supposed revelation of a memorandum of understanding that was agreed to more than a year ago being the tipping point in these negotiations doesn’t hold up. If the Big Ten agreed to the MOU, that means USC knew about it. NBC Sports’ Nicole Auerbach reported as much on Tuesday. According to Auerbach, every Big Ten school had the full language of the MOU in March of 2024, and it received “unanimous” support from all 18 schools.
USC, and specifically Riley, have not earned the benefit of the doubt here.
Riley ran from the University of Oklahoma and the SEC to join USC in the Pac-12. While most Oklahoma fans merely presume Riley’s decision was influenced by the conference switch, the school’s athletic director has intimated there’s some truth to the narrative.
When USC moved to the Big Ten and Riley’s path to the Playoff got more challenging, he reportedly tried like hell to get out of the 2024 season-opener against LSU.
While at OU, Riley canceled media access over students in their own college being able to see his practices, and had windows inside dorm rooms that overlooked the practice field frosted over. While at USC, Riley has suspended a reporter for using innocuous anecdotes in features highlighting USC players, and he has complained about kickoff times and travel as a Big Ten member.
This is who Riley is.
This is who Riley has always been.
His way, or no way.
USC doesn’t want to play Notre Dame in November because that would add to its gauntlet that features Nebraska and Northwestern.
Prior to facing Notre Dame in 2024, USC played a Rutgers team that went 7-6, a Washington team that went 6-7, a Nebraska team that went 7-6, and a UCLA team that went 5-7.
In November this year, USC played a 7-5 Nebraska team, a 6-6 Northwestern team, a 3-9 UCLA team, Iowa, and Oregon. Notre Dame’s schedule ranked as the 32nd-toughest, according to Sagarin. USC’s ranked 33rd.
(Bill Connelly’s SP+ rated USC’s schedule 22nd, while Notre Dame’s was 45th.)
Notre Dame’s schedule is laughable next season. Notre Dame’s November schedule was pathetic this season. USC is certainly within its rights to claim that a November game, given everything we know about the CFP selection committee’s modus operandi, is more advantageous for Notre Dame.
But USC wouldn’t have to worry about what a loss would do to its Playoff résumé if Riley was delivering the type of football USC expected when it hired him.
Since hiring Riley, USC is 7-10 against teams that finished in the final CFP Top 25 ranking. And 3 of those wins came in Year 1 with Caleb Williams playing quarterback. And this probably has very little to do with the news of the week, but that happened to also be the last time USC beat Notre Dame.
The last time for what looks like a long time.
Notre Dame-USC rivalry ending is once again about Lincoln Riley’s cowardice Saturday Down South.
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