Notre Dame, USC Revive Football Rivalry With 4-Year Deal Starting in 2030

Q: How did Big Ten travel pressures and a scheduling opening help rescue Notre Dame-USC after its future looked uncertain?

Big Ten travel pressures and an unexpected opening on Notre Dame’s future schedule made the compromise possible. USC’s main obstacle was timing. After joining the Big Ten, the Trojans argued that keeping Notre Dame in its traditional late-season slot added another major cross-country game on top of an already demanding conference travel load. USC athletic director Jen Cohen and coach Lincoln Riley both said an early-season date better fit the realities of Big Ten scheduling and reduced strain on players’ health and welfare. That demand had been a sticking point when earlier extension talks failed. Notre Dame ultimately agreed to that format shift. The series will now restart in Week 1 in 2030 and 2031, with the 2032 and 2033 games also set for the opening three weeks of those seasons. That gave USC the traditional nonconference window it wanted instead of forcing the rivalry into the middle or end of conference play. The other key factor was schedule flexibility on Notre Dame’s side. A source familiar with the scheduling said Indiana is expected to back out of games against Notre Dame in 2030 and 2031, freeing space for USC. That opening removed a major logistical barrier for the Irish and helped them absorb the rivalry’s return even after they had already used a BYU series to patch part of the gap created by the pause. In short, USC’s Big Ten travel concerns drove the move to September, and Indiana’s withdrawal created the room that allowed Notre Dame to say yes.

3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Aug 3

A four-year agreement will bring Notre Dame-USC back on Aug. 31, 2030, in Los Angeles, with Notre Dame hosting the 2031 return in Week 1.
Indiana's expected exit from its 2030-31 home-and-home with Notre Dame helped open the schedule space, while USC secured its preference for an early-season slot instead of a midseason trip.
The rivalry had run continuously since 1926 except for World War II and the 2020 pandemic, but extension talks collapsed last December after two years of public sparring over playoff pressures and Big Ten travel.
That return reshapes Notre Dame's 2030 slate, front-loading the season because the Irish are set to visit Alabama two weeks after opening against USC.