Despite shaky reports that P4 athletic directors might be about to stage a boycott of scheduling Notre Dame, AD Pete Bevacqua recently offered some hope to Fighting Irish fans. Worries over the rivalry series with USC ending this year have been high for months. However, Bevacqua thinks the two sides might be making progress toward a deal.
Since the Irish opted out of the Pop-Tarts Bowl, Bevacqua has been doing a media tour of sorts. Most of the purpose of this tour has been damage control while playing the blame game with the ACC. However, one stop on The Echoes podcast shed light on talks with the Trojans.
Co-host Jessica Smetana asked Bevacqua point-blank about the possibility of Notre Dame and USC getting a deal done in time to formalize a game in 2026 and beyond.
But I was told the rest of P4 is going to boycott Notre Dame! https://t.co/iwS6S7INAI
— Oliver VanDervoort (@itmeolliev) December 11, 2025
Notre Dame football and USC could be moving toward a short-term scheduling agreement
"Yeah, we've had really good positive conversations with USC and Jen Cohen, their AD," Bevacqua responded. "I'm hopeful, Jess, that we'll get something done here in short order."
The Notre Dame AD did caution that whatever deal they're moving towards wasn't a total fix. Instead, it was the first step towards that.
"I think we'll do a short-term extension. And then, quite frankly, there might be a gap or two in that series and then pick it back up. But I can certainly speak for Notre Dame and I can pretty much speak and confidently speak for USC, both schools. Want to keep this going."
Bevacqua then made it clear there are still details to hammer out.
"They have to be obviously very aware of kind of, you know, our schedule. We have to be aware of their schedule. We both have to be aware of the new reality in college football. But I've had great conversations with Jen Cohen, and we're both committed, and Notre Dame and USC are both committed to getting something done. It's not done yet, but I feel really good about it."
After months of hearing that the series might be coming to an end - at least for the short term - the Irish AD's comments were the first optimistic update offered in quite some time.
Of course, there's still no deal in place. Notre Dame and USC could still see this thing fall through. But there is at least hope on Bevacqua's side that the two sides can reach an agreement.