USC's Lincoln Riley expresses true feelings on Notre Dame rivalry, points out major flaws in system for its continuation

NCAA Football: Southern California at Notre Dame - Source: Imagn
NCAA Football: Southern California at Notre Dame - Source: Imagn

Lincoln Riley has come forward to share his thoughts on the endangered USC-Notre Dame rivalry games. According to ESPN's Adam Rittenberg, the Trojans' head coach wants the games to continue. He also highlights the flaws in the scheduling, reshuffling and changes in the college football playoffs as hindrances to the rivalry.

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"USC coach Lincoln Riley making it clear he wants to keep playing Notre Dame -- 'It's one of the reasons I came' -- but adds the schools 'are in radically different situations' with schedules and CFP paths, and that it underscores the need for a system with more automatic qualifiers."
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The USC-Notre Dame rivalry began in 1926. So far, the Fighting Irish have led the series 50-37-5. Last season, Marcus Freeman's team secured a 49-35 victory over Lincoln Riley while establishing a two-game winning streak.

However, the contract of this rivalry is coming to an end after the 2026 season. Despite both programs showcasing their desire to continue, differences in scheduling have resulted in a stalemate in the negotiations.

Furthermore, the Trojans joined the Big Ten last season following the recent conference realignment. Thus, they now have less flexibility in scheduling non-conference games with just three slots in one season. However, Lincoln Riley expressed his desire for the rivalry to continue at the Big Ten Media Days.

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"I want to play the game. Absolutely. It's one of the reasons I came here. But also, my allegiance and my loyalty is not to Notre Dame, and it's not to anybody else. I'm the head football coach at USC, and I'm going back to USC."

Notre Dame HC Marcus Freeman opens up about continuing rivalry series with Lincoln Riley's team

Last season, Marcus Freeman had an impressive run with the Fighting Irish. He helped the team qualify for the 12-team playoffs and compete for the natty, where they unfortunately lost to Ohio State in the finale.

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During an interview with Joel Klatt last month, Freeman expressed his desire to be able to continue the team's rivalry with the USC Trojans.

"If they ask my opinion, I wanna continuously play USC every year, you know, and it takes both parties to tangle and it's gotta fit both institutions and you know they're in a conference and we're not, when we do play and those different things. But I think it's important that we continue to have this rivalry."
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Lincoln Riley and his team take on Notre Dame on October 18 this year. It is scheduled to be played at South Bend and will kick off at 7:30 pm ET.

Notre Dame Fans? Check out the latest Notre Dame depth chart, schedule, and roster updates all in one place.

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Edited by Neha
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