One of the biggest rules in any sport is that you never want to see an opposing team celebrating on your field, especially not if that team is your most hated rival. Unfortunately for USC football and Lincoln Riley, that is exactly what happened to the Trojans at the end of their regular season.
Heading into USC’s rivalry matchup with Notre Dame on Saturday, the Irish were ranked No. 5 in the College Football Playoff rankings. With an upset victory, the Trojans had the chance to knock their hated foes out of the field.
However, USC came up short, falling 49-35. As a result, Notre Dame wrapped up an 11-1 season and got to celebrate clinching a playoff berth on the Coliseum field.
To make matters worse, this is the third time in their past six visits to the Coliseum that the Irish have gotten to have such a celebration in the Trojans’ house. In 2012, No. 1 Notre Dame defeated USC in the Coliseum to lock up a BCS Championship Game berth. In 2018, the No. 3 Irish took down the Trojans 24-17 to advance to the then-four-team College Football Playoff.
All of this stands in marked contrast to two years ago, when USC carried the hammer and brought it down hard on the Irish in a blowout win which sealed an 11-win regular season and brought Caleb Williams his Heisman Trophy.
So much has changed in the past two years, none of it for the better at USC.
The only silver lining for USC fans is that in both of the previous two instances, the Irish were blown out once they got to the postseason. The Trojan Family can only hope that the same will be true this time, and their hated rivals will remain in search of their first national championship since 1988.
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