Is the Notre Dame football rivalry game with USC saved? That's undoubtedly what the Trojans would like everyone to think. The problem is that their administration is trying to take the pressure off and put it back on the Fighting Irish, without actually trying to save the series.
A new report in the Los Angeles Times claims that USC is looking to make a deal with Notre Dame to continue the series beyond this season. While what the school offered isn't detailed, USC athletic director Jennifer Cohen claims that she's attempting to find something that will make both schools happy.
Could a September date keep Notre Dame–USC alive under new conference realities?
"We’re trying to extend the series," Cohen told the paper about her offer to Notre Dame. "This is an important series for us and for our fans and for our program, and hopefully we get to a resolution that supports that and is in the best interest of our program."
Unfortunately, when Cohen continued talking about continuing the rivalry, which is up in the air after this season, her later comments didn't sound like someone desperate to get a deal done.
"It’s not very typical that a P4 school would travel back and forth across the country for a nonconference game in the middle of October," Cohen said. "Show me who else is doing that and doing the kind of travel we’re doing. It’s a cool tradition to play at the end of the year, but then those are back-to-back rivalry games with a conference championship — and our opponent doesn’t play in a conference championship."
Notre Dame and USC have played 95 times since their first meeting in 1926. Only World War II and the COVID-19 pandemic have interrupted the sport's longest-running intersectional rivalry.
One talking point from LA is that Notre Dame might have a problem moving the game to September. However, the Irish are on record as saying they don't want what time of year the game is played as being an issue. Head coach Marcus Freeman is on record as saying he wants to keep the rivalry going.
"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."
The new report looks like an olive branch. However, it feels like this is more about shifting the blame to the Notre Dame football team. Hopefully, this is really a step in the right direction towards solving the issue and keeping the game going in perpetuity.