USC coach Lincoln Riley blames Notre Dame for ending 96-year rivalry with shocking scheduling change

USC Trojans caput shot coach Lincoln Riley is pointing fingers toward South Bend, Indiana.

The USC-Notre Dame shot rivalry is 1 of nan champion successful nan sport, but it’s travel to an extremity arsenic some programs were incapable to travel to an statement connected an hold to play each different for nan 2026-27 play series.

Riley made an quality successful beforehand of nan media earlier his Trojans look TCU successful nan Valero Alamo Bowl, wherever he didn’t mind taking a changeable astatine nan Fighting Irish.

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Head coach Lincoln Riley of nan USC Trojans looks connected anterior to a crippled against nan UCLA Bruins astatine Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum connected Nov. 29, 2025 successful Los Angeles, California. (Harry How/Getty Images)

"It’s beautiful simple. We some worked for months to effort to find a solution," Riley explained, per The New York Post. "Notre Dame was very vocal astir nan truth that they would play america anytime, anywhere. Obviously, them not having a convention affiliation gives them an expertise to beryllium beautiful elastic pinch their scheduling.

"We went back, Jen Cohen, our A.D., went backmost to Notre Dame astir a mates of weeks agone pinch a script and a connection that would widen nan bid for nan adjacent 2 years. That connection was rejected."

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Riley wasn’t done, though. He didn’t for illustration really Notre Dame quickly recovered a caller force aft nan rejection.

"Not only was it rejected, 5 minutes aft we sewage nan call, it was announced that they had scheduled different opponent, which I’ll springiness them credit. That mightiness beryllium nan fastest scheduling enactment successful assemblage shot history," he said.

The squad Notre Dame went pinch alternatively of USC was BYU, agreeing to a home-and-home bid alternatively of going pinch their accustomed rival connected nan schedule.

Meanwhile, USC is still trying to fig retired who will capable retired their schedule.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish caput coach Marcus Freeman reacts aft an Irish touchdown against nan Pittsburgh Panthers during nan 2nd 4th astatine Acrisure Stadium connected Nov. 15, 2025.  (Charles LeClaire/Imagn Images)

Since 1926, nan Trojans and Fighting Irish person been butting heads connected nan gridiron, playing 96 times pinch only 4 missed games complete that span.

And those missed games? Three from 1943-45 owed to World War II and 1 successful nan 2020 play owed to nan COVID-19 pandemic.

"We took Notre Dame astatine their connection that they would play america anytime, anywhere," Riley added. "Had Notre Dame lived up to their connection and played america anytime, anywhere, we would beryllium playing successful nan adjacent 2 years, and looking up aft that, hopefully continuing nan series."

Bundle FOX One and FOX Nation to watercourse nan full FOX Nation library, positive unrecorded FOX News, Sports, and Entertainment astatine our lowest value of nan year. The connection ends connected Jan. 4, 2026. (Fox One; Fox Nation)

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Instead nan all-time bid for nan 2 storied programs will proceed to beryllium astatine 51-37-5 successful favour of nan Fighting Irish.

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