NEWYou can now listen to PK Press Club articles!
USC Trojans head football coach Lincoln Riley points to South Bend, Indiana.
The USC-Notre Dame football rivalry is one of the best in sports, but it came to an end as the two programs failed to reach an agreement on an extension to play each other for the 2026-27 season series.
Riley made an appearance before the media before his Trojans faced TCU in the Valero Alamo Bowl, where he didn’t mind taking a shot at the Fighting Irish.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON PK Press Club
Head coach Lincoln Riley of the USC Trojans looks on before a game against the UCLA Bruins at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on November 29, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Harry Comment/Getty Images)
“It’s pretty simple. We both worked for months trying to find a solution,” Riley explained, according to the New York Post. “Notre Dame has made it clear that they will play us anytime and anywhere. Obviously, not being affiliated with a conference gives them the ability to be pretty flexible with their schedule.
“We went back. Jen Cohen, our AD, returned to Notre Dame about two weeks ago with a script and a proposal that would extend the series for the next two years. That proposal was rejected.”
NOTRE DAME’S MARCUS FREEMAN SHUTS DOOR ON NFL INTEREST, ANNOUNCES HIS RETURN TO SCHOOL
But Riley wasn’t finished. He didn’t like how Notre Dame quickly found a new opponent after the rejection.
“Not only was it rejected, but five minutes after getting the call it was announced that they had scheduled another opponent, which I owe them. This may be the most rapid act of scheduling in the history of college football,” he said.
The team Notre Dame went with instead of USC was BYU, agreeing to a home-and-home series instead of going with their usual rival on the schedule.
Meanwhile, USC is still trying to figure out who will fill its schedule.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman reacts after an Irish touchdown against the Pittsburgh Panthers during the second quarter at Acrisure Stadium on November 15, 2025. (Charles LeClaire/Imagn Images)
Since 1926, the Trojans and Fighting Irish have faced each other on the field, playing 96 times with only four games missed during that span.
And these missed matches? Three from 1943 to 1945 due to World War II and one during the 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We took Notre Dame at their word: They would play us anytime and anywhere,” Riley added. “If Notre Dame had kept its word and played us anytime and anywhere, we would be playing in the next two years and looking to the future after that, hoping to continue the streak.”
Bundle FOX One and FOX Nation to stream the entire FOX Nation library, plus live FOX News, Sports and Entertainment at our lowest price of the year. Offer ends January 4, 2026. (Fox One; Fox Nation)
Instead, the all-time series for the two storied programs will continue to sit at 51-37-5 in favor of the Fighting Irish.
