In December, USC officials and coach Lincoln Riley publicly took shots at rival Notre Dame, blaming the Fighting Irish for the pause in the rivalry. On Wednesday, USC announced its replacement opponent for the 2026 season.
It’s San Jose State. And with that decision, USC immediately gave up any high ground it might have had.
The Trojans now look unserious. They won’t play a single Power 4 opponent outside the Big Ten. Meanwhile, Notre Dame added a home and home with BYU, set up another with Auburn for 2027 and 2028, and renewed rivalries with Purdue and Michigan State.
The Irish also have Wisconsin in Green Bay and their ACC-assisted schedule, including Miami and SMU.
USC’s explanation is that its only opening was in Week 0, and Notre Dame was unwilling to play then. But when the best opponent USC could land was San Jose State, that argument rings hollow.
Here’s why.
USC Sacrificed Tradition
USC is responsible for working with the Big Ten to build a schedule that works. The league routinely works around nonconference commitments, and this rivalry has always followed a simple format: Notre Dame hosts in October, USC hosts in November or early December.
The Trojans no longer want to do that. They prefer to play the game before Big Ten play begins. That is their choice. But this rivalry dates to 1926, and walking away from it over scheduling preferences in what would have been the 100th anniversary year is short-sighted.
Most Big Ten teams do not have a nonconference rival like Notre Dame. USC does. It should have treated that differently.
USC Chose the Big Ten
This part cannot be ignored. USC and UCLA chose to leave the Pac-12 for the Big Ten. They chose the travel, the schedule, and the financial tradeoffs that came with it.
It is not Notre Dame’s responsibility to accommodate USC after USC decided to upend decades of tradition.
Notre Dame has made clear that it will protect the rivalries it values. Even after its ACC agreement, the Irish kept Stanford, Navy, and USC on the schedule. USC managed to make it work in the Pac-10 and Pac-12. There is no reason it could not do the same in the Big Ten.
USC Is Trying to Minimize Playoff Risk
The opponent choice makes USC’s priorities clear. Lincoln Riley is under pressure, and he does not want to risk an extra loss to a potential playoff team.
To a point, that is understandable. USC drew a tough Big Ten slate, with home games against Oregon and Ohio State and a road trip to defending national champion Indiana. An 11-1 record could be enough to reach the playoff.
But that does not make this defensible. Nobody felt sorry for Auburn or Tennessee when they had to play Georgia and Alabama every season. Sometimes your rival is elite. Your job is to beat them, not avoid them.
USC has not done that. The Trojans are 1-7 in their last eight against Notre Dame, and Lincoln Riley is 1-3 against Marcus Freeman. Taking Notre Dame off the schedule reduces the risk of a loss, but USC can’t do that and then turn around and blame the Irish.
USC Could Have Found a Better Partner
San Jose State is coming off a 3-9 season. The Spartans are not going to provide much resistance.
That is clearly what USC wanted. But when Notre Dame is out scheduling near-playoff caliber opponents, USC cannot credibly claim the Irish are the problem.
If USC had replaced Notre Dame with a Power 4 home and home, the criticism would be much softer. There were options. A short-term agreement with Stanford could have preserved an in-state rivalry. A creative scheduling arrangement with a Power 4 team would have shown intent to compete.
Instead, USC made the safest possible choice.
Final Thought
Lincoln Riley is not wrong to want a path to the College Football Playoff. But you do not get to avoid your rival, downgrade your schedule, and then point the finger at Notre Dame.
If USC wants the benefit of the doubt, it has to act like a program willing to compete at the highest level. Right now, it does not look like it.
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