While the news of the potential end of Notre Dame and USC's rivalry on the football field is new to much of the college football world, the Fighting Irish have seen this coming and have been prepared to fight this battle for almost a year now. However, it seems like some big names at USC are also ready to put on their gloves and fight for the matchup.
Lincoln Riley and the USC Trojans are running from their matchup; Notre Dame isn't the one giving up on this rivalry. USC is insistent on saying it is because the team is not in the Big Ten, but in reality, it comes down to the fact that they don't want a non-conference game every season that they don't have a huge chance of winning.
The USC boosters aren't buying what the Trojans are trying to sell to the rest of the world, and some of us are very upset with the team, so upset that they are ready to pull some funding.
The pressure could be getting to USC about their matchup with Notre Dame
When those supplying the money to the program are talking about pulling that money to the Board of Trustees, minds can change really fast. In today's day of college football, money talks, and USC has been able to use NIL to their advantage, and a lot of that kind of money comes from boosters willing to donate.
The pressure could be getting to USC now, and Riley may not have much of a say in this matchup. Notre Dame is certainly a force to be reckoned with, but imagine what a win against the Fighting Irish would do for USC, well, if they can get one.
USC is in full meltdown mode and it seems like only one thing will fix it at this point, and that is simply just playing the game against Notre Dame.