The annual Notre Dame-USC rivalry recreation might be on life assist.
On Tuesday, the Preventing Irish announced a 12-year regular-season series with Clemson, which is able to run from the 2027-2038 seasons. That coincides with the final recreation between Notre Dame and USC, which is ready for 2026.
In February, USC athletic director Jennifer Cohen spoke with The Athletic in regards to the rivalry courting again to 1926.
Cohen famous that the Trojans are within the expanded Massive Ten convention and arguably the nation’s greatest after successful the previous two nationwide titles. Nevertheless, they may not have an urge for food for an out-of-conference yearly recreation towards the Preventing Irish.
“We’re now taking part in in a convention the place we fly backwards and forwards throughout the nation each different week,” Cohen reasoned. (Gee, perhaps USC ought to have thought-about that earlier than it torched the Pac-12.)
“So we stay in conversations with Notre Dame in regards to the sequence,” Cohen continued. “I feel we’re clear to one another [that] we’ll proceed to judge what’s greatest, and it is my job to judge what’s greatest for our student-athletes and our program.”
Aside from the 2020 season, which was altered by COVID-19, Notre Dame and USC have performed each season because the finish of World Battle II.
It makes extra sense for the Trojans to need to discontinue the rivalry. Within the sequence’ 95-game historical past, the Irish lead, 52-38-5. They’ve additionally received six of the final seven conferences, together with the previous two by a mixed rating of 97-55.
Notre Dame and Clemson do not have almost as wealthy a historical past. The packages have met eight occasions, with the primary in 1977. They’ve performed one another six occasions over the past 10 seasons, with the Irish going 2-4 throughout that span.
Whereas it will be disappointing for the Notre Dame-USC rivalry to be placed on maintain following the a hundredth anniversary of their first assembly, it is smart why the Irish would gravitate towards the Tigers regardless of them being a harder matchup.
Clemson is an ACC energy and made the CFP final season after successful its convention. In the meantime, USC has by no means made the CFP and has extra dropping seasons (two) than 10-win seasons (one) since 2018.
With the power of schedule a major issue within the Faculty Soccer Playoff committee’s analysis of the nation’s prime groups, Notre Dame ought to profit extra from taking part in Clemson, no matter whether or not it wins or loses (barring a blowout).
It is a disgrace that the budding Notre Dame-Clemson sequence might come on the expense of maybe school soccer’s greatest out-of-conference rivalry.
