For all of the grief Notre Dame has received from different parts of the college football world for skipping a bowl game this year, it was all misplaced hate and a waste of time. That hate and time should have been reserved for Monday’s bombshell news that saw the end of the Jeweled Shillelagh Rivalry between Notre Dame and USC.
And this was most definitely USC’s fault.
For over a year now we have been knee deep in this conversation. It really started with Lincoln Riley’s initial comments about trying to make it easier for USC to make the playoffs, and it has spun out of control ever since. There really seemed to be enough backlash from former Trojan players and wealthy USC alums who were angry and astonished that there was even the slightest consideration of ending one of the greatest rivalries in all of sports.
But cowards are cowards and only run faster once they’re uncovered.
“Cowardice” is the only word that comes to mind (other than “soft”) when I read this:
“However, USC officials determined that the game date was not ideal considering past decisions from the CFP selection committee in punishing schools for losses, especially those late in the season.”
USC is open admitting to fearing the Notre Dame loss before it even happens. As a blue-blood and one of the all-time great college football powers, how did this program ever get to this point? Notre Dame has owned the series with a 53-38-5 record against USC. The Irish have won three straight, and 11 of the last 15. It’s a series that has always been streaky — but at no point from 2002-2008, when USC was 8-0 against the Irish, did anyone from Notre Dame even think about dropping the USC series.
As if ending the series just because USC is too soft to actually win a game against the Irish, we get this gem via tweets from L.A. Times writer, Ryan Kartje:
“In light of Notre Dame’s agreement re: CFP, which USC hadn’t been aware of, USC reversed course on its plan to compromise and insisted that the ND game be played in Week Zero in 2026. A source said they felt ND’s agreement was “a material advantage” that could disadvantage USC.
USC’s calculus changed considerably on the day of the CFP selection. USC was already on the fence about a compromise. Then concerns emerged over what the committee was rewarding vs punishing, a source said. Namely, how the committee might punish a late-season loss to ND.
Had Notre Dame had its new agreement with the CFP committee in place in 2025, the Irish would’ve gotten in over Miami, who beat them earlier in the season. That scenario was a concern to USC.“
So… USC is mad about a deal that their conference commissioner signed and delivered, and are saying they didn’t know about it. Either they’re the dumbest administration in sports, or they’re completely full of shit — but it’s probably both. USC tanked the series because the thought of Notre Dame being ranked #12 in the college football playoff rankings is some crazy and extreme turn of events.
SOFT.
USC was the main cause for the destruction of the PAC-12 and this insane world of 18 team conferences, and all of it was for an extra buck. Now they want to cry about travel and scheduling, and everything else they didn’t just help to create, but were sitting at the head of the table with a pinkie ring, cat, and stupid laugh.
USC has become the softest program in the country. The fact that the Trojans openly admit to being soft is pretty embarrassing. The series could return in 2030, and my initial reaction would be to tell you to not bet on it, but there’s a pretty good chance the people making these decisions will be gone by then, and the USC faithful that aren’t cowards could likely put this game back on the menu.
We’ll see if that’s eventually the case, but what I see right now is a cowardice to compete that is unmatched, and it’s from a program that made competing against the best the highest priority under Pete Carroll. Disgusting.
