marcus freeman: Marcus Freeman stands starkly opposite to Lincoln Riley on USC-Notre Dame rivalry issue

Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman shared his thoughts on facing the USC Trojans, and his position was the exact opposite of Lincoln Riley's.

While Riley believes the rivalry could be a casualty of the new college football landscape, as the Trojans are now part of the Big Ten, Freeman said he would be open to playing them whenever the opportunity presents itself.

“It’s pretty black and white for me," Freeman said on Thursday, via BGI News. "You want my opinion? I want to play them every single year. When? I don’t care. I don’t care when we play them. Start of the season, middle of the season, end of the season — I don’t care. I want to play USC every year because it’s great for college football.”

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They will clash at South Bend on Oct. 18; however, it would be the last game of the current deal between the two programs. It has been reported that USC is willing to extend the contract for one more season, but the Fighting Irish want a new long-term deal.

Freeman's comments are also telling, as he remains open to playing them at any point of a season. According to some reports, the Trojans don't want to make late-season trips to South Bend. The door to meet at an earlier date in the future could still be open.

Notre Dame and USC have played 95 times since 1926, only pausing during World War II and the COVID-19 pandemic. Contrary to most other rivalries in college football, both teams are in different regions, turning it into one of the biggest national rivalries in the sport.

What did Lincoln Riley say about the rivalry before Marcus Freeman's response?

After it was first reported that the USC-Notre Dame rivalry could be coming to an end, Lincoln Riley talked about it on the "Always College Football" podcast.

“There are some changes that we’ve all just gotta accept, because it’s just part of it right now,” Riley said on Friday. “Obviously that continues to move, and we’ll see how it evolves. But I think any door that closes, there’s also a new, really exciting door that’s getting opened.”

The Trojans will enter their second season in the Big Ten after finishing with a 7-6 (4-5) record last year, including a win over Texas A&M in the Las Vegas Bowl. Meanwhile, Marcus Freeman's team made a run to the national championship game, where they lost to Ohio State.

About the author

Allan Wolburg Robles is a College Sports journalist at Sportskeeda with over 17 years of experience in the field writing for publications including Reforma, Yahoo! OddsShark and Apuesta. Allan studied Communications at Anáhuac University, where he learned what would become the basis of a trade that was already a dream of his before starting college.

His favorite team is Army West Point as when he was young, Allan lived in West Point for a couple of years, went to pretty much every home game, a couple of Army-Navy games and even got to meet some of the players.

Allan's favorite players of all time include Tommie Frazier, who was unbelievable during the Nebraska dynasty of the early 90's. Tim Tebow was also a favorite, mainly because of his leadership skills, although he was also awesome on the football field. As a fan of defensive football, (or what's left of it), Sean Taylor could take over a game for Miami.

Allan has always considered himself a student of the game more than a fan of it. So the historical part and evolution of the game, as well as the ins and outs of what happens on the field, and being able to put it into words for the audience, are his biggest strengths.

Besides sports, Allan enjoys reading books, watching movies and spending time with his dogs.

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Edited by Victor Ramon Galvez