USC, Notre Dame Renew Rivalry Talks, Eyeing Return by 2030 as Irish Reopen Week 0 Option
Updated
Updated · Fox News · May 11
USC, Notre Dame Renew Rivalry Talks, Eyeing Return by 2030 as Irish Reopen Week 0 Option
7 articles · Updated · Fox News · May 11
Los Angeles Times reported Monday that USC and Notre Dame are back in talks to revive their football rivalry, with the earliest likely return now 2030.
Week 0 scheduling had been the main sticking point: Notre Dame previously resisted moving the game earlier, but is now willing to discuss an earlier-season slot.
The dispute helped kill the series for 2026 and 2027 after USC, now in the Big Ten, argued its conference schedule made a traditional October or November date harder to sustain.
USC replaced Notre Dame with San Jose State for 2026, while Notre Dame's independent status and playoff path leave it with stronger incentives to restore a marquee opponent.
The renewed talks offer hope for preserving one of college football's oldest annual rivalries, played regularly since 1926 outside wartime and COVID interruptions.
If both schools now agree on terms, why must fans wait until 2030 for the rivalry's celebrated return?
As playoff ambitions force a truce, which other historic rivalries are now endangered by college football's new era?