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Josh Pate slams USC as ‘pathetic’ for considering end to Notre Dame rivalry
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USC should play Notre Dame every year, and no one at the school should have the ability to end that football rivalry. That was the argument from CBS Sports’ Josh Pate this week.
Reports emerged earlier in the week that the annual rivalry game between the 2 storied programs is on the brink of collapsing. This season’s meeting is the last one on the current contract between the 2 schools. A report from Sports Illustrated stated that Notre Dame wanted a long-term extension of the rivalry series but USC has offered just a 1-year extension. Notre Dame’s athletic director told SI the Fighting Irish believe USC and Notre Dame should play every year. USC head coach Lincoln Riley has repeatedly cast doubt on the future of the series since taking the job in 2022.
“There are some changes that we’ve all just gotta accept, because it’s just part of it right now,” Riley said recently on the Always College Football podcast.
With USC moving to the Big Ten, the belief is the Trojans don’t want to commit to the equivalent of a 10th power conference game. Last year’s College Football Playoff, with the inclusion of Indiana and the exclusion of a 9-win Alabama team, suggested raw wins still carry tremendous weight.
But Pate called that mentality from USC pathetic.
“Lincoln Riley’s not wrong. That’s why I’m not even here to trash him or USC. It’s certainly a pathetic mentality, but, you know what? He ought not even have reason to have it,” Pate argued. “He shouldn’t have the choice. The AD at USC shouldn’t have the option. The president of USC shouldn’t have the option. The mayor of Los Angeles shouldn’t have the option. Those come and go.
“We’ve had dozens of head coaches and athletic directors at these respective institutions, and yet they’ve played this game 95 times since 1924. You want to know what’s canceled this game since 1924? There was this pesky, little World War II we had, and then there was COVID in 2020. That’s it. Can you imagine that? War cancels your game, pandemic cancels your game, worry we might not make the Playoffs because we’re 9-3 instead of 10-2 cancels the game. One of those is not like the other. Pathetic.”
Pate went on to say that any individual who accepts the head coaching job or the AD job at the 2 schools should do so with an understanding that the game is untouchable.
“If you don’t like that, then guess what? You don’t have to take the job,” Pate said.
Pate also questioned the direction of major college football that incentivizes top programs to avoid major games. As conferences have grown more bloated, nonconference schedules are being re-evaluated. After Alabama missed the CFP last season, AD Greg Byrne said the school would reassess its future nonconference schedules.
USC played LSU to open the season last fall. In the Vegas Kickoff Classic at Allegiant Stadium, the Trojans won a 27-20 thriller.
The Trojans’ nonconference schedule this season features Missouri State, Georgia Southern, and Notre Dame. But none of those games will make a difference if Riley goes 4-5 in Big Ten play again.
Riley won his first game against Notre Dame in 2022. Since, USC has lost both meetings with the Irish by double-digits. This year’s game is in South Bend on Oct. 18.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
