When a school like Notre Dame is engaged in a rivalry, or several rivalries, it’s natural for fans of the program to want their team to win every year. More than a few college football coaches over the years have had their resumes judged not by their overall wins and losses but by their .
For the Fighting Irish, the most bitter rivalry of all the rivalries they’ve had is against USC. Part of that is because the Trojans have been one of the most storied programs in college football. Some of it is because there are times when the Golden Domers had their season sunk by a big loss to the school in California. And of course, the bitterness also stems from the other rivalries largely being very, very one-sided.
Marcus Freeman, for example, has never lost to either Army or Navy. In this era, that’s not that big an accomplishment. In decades past, being undefeated against the service academies would be impressive. The same can be said for Stanford. While he might not ever get the chance to get better, he’s also got the 3-1 record against USC. So who else did Irish fans proud by beating up on the school’s most bitter rivalries?
Lou Holtz vs USC took Notre Dame to new levels of dominance
It’s not a stretch to say that in South Bend because he absolutely owned the Trojans. During Holtz's time with the Fighting Irish, his teams went 9-1-1 against USC.
That record doesn’t even tell the whole story. against the Trojans. It wasn’t until his last season in South Bend that he finally lost to this rival. It’s safe to say that he wasn’t happy about the way that streak went out, but he could at least happily point out just how much success he had in the series.
Brian Kelly’s one redeeming quality
The coach who left Notre Dame for LSU is not exactly beloved in South Bend. However, when , fans were probably plenty happy with the fact that he went 8-3 against the Trojans.
These days, it’s safe to say that those same fans who were always celebrating wins over USC would call Kelly’s record against the historical rival his only redeeming quality.
Frank Leahy led Notre Dame to rivalry dominance
After spending two years at Boston College, Leahy led the Irish to seven 10-win seasons and absolutely dominated USC, similar to how Lou Holtz won. Leahy played against USC five times when ranked as the No. 1 or No. 2 team in the nation and went 4-0-1 in those games. It was during Leahy's tenure in South Bend that the Jeweled Shillelagh made its way into the rivalry after Notre Dame shut out USC, 9-0, in their 1952 meeting.
Overall, Leahy posted an 8-1-1 record against USC. One win less than Holtz.
Knute Rockne won one for the Gipper, and many for Notre Dame
Knute Rockne was a comparatively modest 4-1 against USC, but it was his record against Army that was really impressive. He coached the Irish when the marquee rivalry of the times was the Irish vs the Black Knights.
He went 9-2-1 vs the Cadets, including his most iconic rivalry triumph in 1928 against West Point. During halftime of a scoreless game, he delivered the legendary "Win one for the Gipper" speech, inspiring a 12–6 Notre Dame upset over a heavily favored Army.
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