On Monday, Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports reported that USC and Notre Dame failed to reach an agreement to extend their storied rivalry. After playing each other nearly every year for practically a century, the two schools will not face off in 2026, or reportedly until at least 2030.
The news has drawn all sorts of reactions from countless people with connections to both schools and college football. One former USC star, wide receiver Keyshawn Johnson, took the news particularly hard. In a video posted on social media, Johnson ripped the Trojans for their role in ending the rivalry.
“Here’s what I’m going to say, man,” Johnson said. “I don’t know what the f is going on with our athletic department. We got people in there that are not Trojans, that don’t know anything about being a Trojan, running our athletic department. We got a head coach that knows nothing about being a Trojan. Why don’t we just not play football? How about that? We’re not gonna play Notre Dame again possibly until 2030 is what I’m understanding? That doesn’t make any sense. I grew up on the Notre Dame-USC rivalry.
“And I’m not one to go in on my athletic department, nor am I one to go in on the USC football coach. But if I can remember correctly, I had Lincoln Riley talking about, well, I don’t know if I want to play them in the future. You ain’t gonna be here in the future, especially if you keep missing the playoffs. You’re not gonna be here in the future, I promise you that.
“This is crazy. It really is crazy when you think about it. Michigan-Ohio State, one of the biggest rivalries in football. Alabama-Auburn, ok? They ain’t canceling that. Why would we cancel our biggest rivalry? Because we can’t beat ’em? It’s ridiculous, it makes zero sense, man. It’s just hard to support this program. It’s hard, it’s really hard to support this program when we keep on doing this type of stuff, this behavior. I can’t man. We need Trojans doing Trojan things. We don’t need imposters coming in trying to do Trojan things. I’mma leave it at that.”
Riley’s long-term future at USC is an entire new conversation that could warrant numerous stories of its own. It is also unclear how heavily Riley was involved in the decision, as opposed to the athletic department administration.
But at the end of the day, it is understandable why Johnson is so frustrated to see the rivalry coming to an end. For generations, getting to play against Notre Dame in college football’s greatest intersectional rivalry has been one of the career highlights for countless USC players. The fact that future Trojans will not get to experience that—at least for the next four year—is truly sad to see.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: USC football alum Keyshawn Johnson rips Trojans over Notre Dame series
