Notre Dame, USC to Pause Historic College Football Rivalry Beginning in 2026

One of college football's top rivalries is set to take a break.

The Notre Dame-USC rivalry won't be played for the foreseeable future after Notre Dame came to a scheduling agreement with BYU on Monday. Shortly after a report from Yahoo Sports indicated that the annual series between the longtime rivals would be put on pause, the two programs confirmed in a joint statement that the hiatus will begin in 2026.

"USC and Notre Dame recognize how special our rivalry is to our fans, our teams, and college football, and our institutions will continue working towards bringing back The Battle for the Jeweled Shillelagh," the two programs said. "The rivalry between our two schools is one of the best in all of sport, and we look forward to meeting again in the future."

Notre Dame and USC were scheduled to play each other in Los Angeles in 2026, but the new two-year scheduling deal with BYU will replace Notre Dame's matchup with its longtime rival. Notre Dame and USC have played each other in nearly every single season since 1926, except for four years. They didn't play for three years at the height of World War II, and they skipped the annual rivalry game during the 2020 season — which was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

There were rumors of the rivalry possibly being paused over the last several months. During the summer, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman expressed a willingness to keep the rivalry ongoing in a conversation with FOX Sports lead analyst Joel Klatt. 

"Before I even got to Notre Dame, there are memories I have in my head of great plays in the USC-Notre Dame rivalry," Freeman said on the "The Joel Klatt Show." "I think it’s important to continue that rivalry. If they ask my opinion, I want to continuously play USC every year. 

"It takes both parties to tangle. It’s to fit both institutions. They’re in a conference, we’re not, when we play — all of those different things. But I think it’s important that we continue to have this rivalry."

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USC had expressed a willingness to make changes to the annual rivalry over the last year, citing the uncertain future of the College Football Playoff format. USC had reportedly wished to play its matchup with Notre Dame earlier in the season as well; when Notre Dame hosts the game, it's played in October. When USC hosts the game, it's played in the final week of the regular season. 

Notre Dame leads the all-time series against USC 51-37-5.

The rivalry is one of the most historic in college football and has several memorable moments. Of course, there was the "Bush Push" game in 2005, but there were a few instances where one of the teams derailed the other's national championship hopes.

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With the storied history between the longtime rivals, Klatt listed the Notre Dame-USC rivalry as one of the five rivalries that should be played annually that currently isn't played on an annual basis. 

The move to pause the rivalry also came two weeks after Notre Dame was left out of the College Football Playoff. USC was Notre Dame's highest-ranked win in 2025. But BYU was the second-highest-ranked team to be left out of the CFP field, following Notre Dame.

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