USC fans have a point about dropping Notre Dame football from schedule

The rivalry between Notre Dame football and USC is one of those that has endured the test of time. It's endured an era where teams are expected to play more conference games than ever before. It's endured an era when other Fighting Irish rivalries have gone by the wayside.

But is it about time to give up on keeping the Notre Dame football-USC Trojans rivalry going? Has the sport entered an era when real rivalries are all about matchups in the conference? Is USC's move to the Big Ten the first step in ending one of the longest running rivalries in all of sports?

Interestingly enough, it's USC fans who are advocating for the death of this rivalry. At least of them are. And they're not entirely misguided.

The Twitter account Message Board Geniuses tends to post comments from message boards that are supposed to be funny in how bad they are. But one of the latest posts from that account shows that some Trojans fans could simply be understanding the reality of the sport these days.

'With USC’s move to the BIG we will be at a competitive disadvantage if Notre Dame remains on our schedule," one fan wrote. "Every other BIG team plays 9 regular season games. Let’s face it. Notre Dame is as close to being a BIG team without formally being a league member as you can get. However, no other team will have to play 10 league games except for us."

The fan went on to say that until Notre Dame football officially joins the Big Ten, USC should consider ending the rivalry.

Notre Dame football jumping off the USC schedule?

One has to think that the whupping the Irish put on Caleb Williams this year has something to do with it. Lincoln Riley's squad came to South Bend undefeated. They left with a blowout loss. They then lost four more other games.

The same fan also made the point that other teams in the Big Ten often have weaker schedules.

"Every year Penn State, Eugene Community College (Oregon), Michigan and Ohio State play the weakest schedules in college football. They like the SEC have learned to game the system. We should do the same thing."

It an interesting argument. It's one I've looked at for Notre Dame football with the CFP expanding to 12 teams. It's a decent enough argument, it would be surprising if both schools haven't at least given it some thought.