It’s on and it’s about damn time, @trojanswire.
Rivalry weekend came and went this weekend as the college football fan’s Saturday started with Ohio State and Michigan before Alabama-Auburn provided a thriller. Beyond that, seemingly the rest of the nation played for a rivalry trophy of some sort, including Notre Dame, who once again took home the Legends Trophy after the 45-14 thrashing they gave Stanford, and Oklahoma-Oklahoma State lived up to the hype in Bedlam.
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Little did we know when Lincoln Riley left the stadium in Stillwater that he’d soon be named the next head coach at USC, easily Notre Dame’s biggest rival. When both teams are peaking there isn’t a better rivalry in college football based off impact, dislike, and overall talent. The Irish and Trojans have met 92 times and really outside of winning football games, are each others yin and yang based off plenty of perceptions.
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In recent years though, Notre Dame and USC may have kept playing (outside of 2020, stupid pandemic) but the rivalry took a significant hit. Not that the teams and fans don’t still have a deep disregard for the other, but the national impact hasn’t been there because rarely have both teams simultaneously been good.
Every year from 1972-1980, when Notre Dame and USC met, both teams were rated in the top 25. In fact, five of those nine games were matchups between teams ranked in the top 10.
Recently though, this rivalry simply hasn’t been between two teams anyone has viewed as regularly great. Notre Dame and USC have met 40 times since 1981 with both being ranked ahead of those games just nine times.
Sure, we remember some of the years or moments in that time like the 1988 1. vs. 2. game or the “Bush Push”, but the annual showdown has for the most part been anything but.
Brian Kelly has turned what was a fluttering Notre Dame program back into a national powerhouse. It’ll be a surprise to almost everyone if Lincoln Riley doesn’t quickly do the same at USC.
It may be fun as a Notre Dame fan to poke at USC during their down time but let’s face it, the Irish need USC to be good. For instance, if this year’s USC squad was the top 10 team it should be competing to be each year, how much better would the Irish resume for the College Football Playoff be?
Instead, that October win for Notre Dame is viewed as just a victory over 4-7, Power Five team.
If Lincoln Riley is able to make USC great again, it’ll elevate the Notre Dame-USC rivalry to what it was back in its heyday.
We’ll be blessed as college football fans that this rivalry should finally have both teams annually being legit championship contenders for the first time in decades.
And if USC gets better it’ll only force Notre Dame to have to keep getting better as well.
It’s on.
Related:
Notre Dame-USC…fun facts about epic rivalry
Brian Kelly’s great success all-time vs. USC
Notre Dame-USC: greatest moment from a rivalry low point
Keyshawn Johnson appears to not be a fan of Notre Dame football
