It doesn’t appear that the Notre Dame football rivalry with USC will continue to be an annual game. That’s despite several protests from South Bend and national media talking heads. Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley doesn’t seem like he’s all that into it. However, one analyst, Pete Thamel, thinks there is still a chance to save the rivalry and make sure it doesn’t go away after the last of the officially scheduled contests.
Thamel discussed the situation on a recent ESPN College Football podcast and mentioned that pressure could be put on both schools to work out a deal. He also agreed that the pressure needs to come from all areas because this rivalry is better for the sport in general.
Pete Thamel: public shaming may be Notre Dame’s best hope to keep annual clash with USC alive
“Specifically for Notre Dame and USC, that would be a giant loss for the sport,” Pete Thamel said. “Like, that would be a huge loss for the sport, and I do wonder if the outcry, shaming USC for pondering losing it will win out.”
“Look…” Thamel continued. “There’s no more pro-market than LA. And people in LA are not excited when Purdue comes to town. They’re certainly not excited at the non-con USC has right now outside of [Notre Dame football].”
The college football insider added he thinks this was mainly Riley overreacting to having to play Notre Dame last year.
“Now, they won the LSU game… So, worrying about the travel, thinking about that. Boy, that would be a tough press release to send out if you’re USC when you do that because you are just waving the white flag and putting yourself in the fetal position and saying, ‘We can’t compete like we used to.’ It’s simple, ‘We can’t compete like we used to. We don’t want to be challenged.'”
The big question now is whether someone can talk some sense into Riley before the Notre Dame football series against USC goes away forever. The louder outside voices get, the harder it will be to kill the series.