A news report from Yahoo! Sportssuggests that Notre Dame’s rivalry with USC will take a break.
The two schools had been negotiating to keep playing in the future, but those negotiations fell through. According to the report, USC had some concerns about playing on the traditional post-Thanksgiving date — a loss that late in the season could impact a team’s chances of making the College Football Playoff.
USC is also, meanwhile, a member of the Big 10 and has a conference schedule to work with, and Notre Dame is set to play five games against ACC opponents. Those obligations complicate matters.
Next year’s game would’ve been the 97th meeting between the two schools and the 79th consecutive, not counting the one-year hiatus for the 2020 season, which was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The only other pause was three years during the 1940s for World War II.
An attempt to play in Week Zero didn’t work out. The two schools are working to restart the series as soon as 2030.
Notre Dame and BYU have just formed an agreement to play a home-and-home series in 2026 and 2027.
Notre Dame and USC have failed to reach a deal to extend their historic series and are working to schedule replacements for 2026, sources tell @YahooSports.
In fact, the Irish are finalizing a 2-year series with BYU. ND-BYU next October in Provo.https://t.co/iRZCjY6Up0
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) December 22, 2025
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This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: Report: Notre Dame, USC put rivalry on pause
