LOS ANGELES (CNS) – USC and Notre Dame will not renew their football rivalry in 2026 both schools announced, but also pledged to “continue working towards bringing back the Battle for the Jeweled Shillelagh.”
The pause in what is considered college football’s greatest intersectional rivalry was caused by Notre Dame rejecting USC’s demand that the game be played in Week 0 or not at all, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday, hours after the joint announcement.
The game had long been played in late November at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in even years and in mid-October in South Bend, Indiana in odd years.
Discussions between the rivals broke down in recent weeks, shortly after the College Football Playoff field was announced on Dec. 7, a person familiar with negotiations not authorized to speak publicly told The Times.
In the wake of Notre Dame being left out of the 12-team field, Yahoo reported that College Football Playoff officials came to an agreement with the school in March 2024 that assured the Fighting Irish of a playoff berth if they were ranked among the top 12 at season’s end starting in 2026.
That agreement, if applied this year, would have meant slotting Notre Dame in the field over Miami, which defeated the Notre Dame to open the season.
The two schools nearly announced a continuation of the series around the time of their October matchup in South Bend. A person familiar with the negotiations told The Times that USC was ready then to compromise and stick with the rivalry’s usual cadence over the next two seasons,.
But at the time USC officials were not aware Notre Dame reached an agreement with CFP officials that guaranteed the Fighting Irish a playoff spot if they finish in the top 12 of the final rankings starting in 2026, the person told The Times.
To USC officials the agreement felt like “a material advantage” to the Irish, whose place as an independent and scheduling flexibility already afforded them a considerable edge in positioning for the playoff over other programs, like USC, that are tethered to a conference.
USC also had concerns about the CFP selection committee punishing schools hard for late-season rivalry game losses while early season rivalry game losses, however, typically have been less of a hindrance for teams in playoff contention.
After learning of the agreement, the person told The Times, USC athletic director Jennifer Cohen reversed course on plans for a compromise, telling Notre Dame instead that the game would have to be played in Week Zero or not at all..
The series that began in 1926 has only previously been interrupted from 1943-45 because of World War II and 2020 because of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Fighting Irish lead the series 53-37-5, including seven victories in seven of the past eight games.
The Trojans vacated the victory in 2005 as part of the penalties issued by the NCAA for improper benefits accepted by 2005 Heisman Trophy- winning running back Reggie Bush and his family.
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