Lincoln Riley reiterates stance on paused USC-Notre Dame rivalry: 'We want to play the game'

CHICAGO — USC will be put through the wringer this season. The Trojans will play Oregon, Ohio State and Indiana. They also have to hit the road to take on Penn State and Wisconsin back-to-back games.

As much of a gauntlet as USC's schedule is, it possesses a glaring omission: Notre Dame.

The news broke last winter that USC and Notre Dame had failed to reach an agreement to play what would be the 97th game in the historic series between the rival programs during the 2026 season. They have faced off in 78 of the past 79 seasons, excluding the COVID-19-affected campaign in 2020.

That run is coming to an end this year. Previously, the series had only been paused for a three-year period that coincided with World War II and, as mentioned above, briefly for the pandemic.

When word got out about the newest hiatus in December, USC head coach Lincoln Riley blamed Notre Dame. He's not backing away from the sentiment he expressed back then.

"I don't think anything more than to say I would just reference my comments earlier in the winter," Riley said, when asked Tuesday at Hilton Chicago during Big Ten media days if there have been any new changes regarding the Notre Dame series.

"I think I gave everybody a pretty clear indication of how those have went, and nothing's changed from my vantage point. We want to play the game. I want to play the game. We would be playing the game had some things come true that were said. And so hopefully we get to that point.

"Obviously we want it to happen. I know our fan base wants it to happen. College football wants it to happen. And hopefully I'm up here next year talking about that game here on the future schedule. So we'll keep making progress and let you know if we have any more updates."

USC offered to move the 2026 version of the game to the beginning of the season, rather than its typical late-season spot, in order to keep the rivalry going, as reported by the Los Angeles Times. Ahead of the Trojans' appearance in the Alamo Bowl last season, Riley laid out his perspective.

"It's pretty simple," Riley said on Dec. 29, per The Times. "We both worked for months to try to find a solution. Notre Dame was very vocal about the fact that they would play us anytime, anywhere.

"Jen Cohen, our AD, went back to Notre Dame roughly a couple of weeks ago with a scenario and a proposal that would extend the series for the next two years. We took Notre Dame at their word that they would play us anytime, anywhere. That proposal was rejected.

"Not only was it rejected, but five minutes after we got the call, it was announced they scheduled another opponent, which I'll give them credit, that might be the fastest scheduling act in college football history."

The Fighting Irish finalized a two-year agreement with BYU to play the Cougars in a home-and-home series in 2026-27.

It's important to note, though, that before the 2026 Week 0 matchup was proposed, USC officials were the ones at odds in a previous round of discussions, according to Ross Dellenger's Dec. 22 report for Yahoo Sports. In late November last year, the programs were close to finalizing a two-year extension of their agreement. But, per Dellenger, USC determined that the late-fall game date wasn't ideal due to the weight the College Football Playoff selection committee gives to late-season losses.

USC and Notre Dame began their series in 1926. Administrators from both schools have reportedly agreed to work toward restarting the series as soon as 2030.