USC AD hints at future of Notre Dame series with schedule comments
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Though she did not explicitly mention Notre Dame, it was impossible to read the statement on future nonconference scheduling from USC athletic director Jen Cohen and not think about the future of the series between the Irish and the Trojans.
On Friday, Cohen put out a statement to reporters stressing that future scheduling decisions would be based on “what is best for the success of our football program.” The future of the series with Notre Dame has been a hot-button topic for months. Cohen said Friday that USC wants to play nonconference opponents at home “as early as possible every year.”
This year, the Trojans played Notre Dame in South Bend on Oct. 18. Last year, the two teams met in Los Angeles on Nov. 30.
Notre Dame, which has won 7 of the last 8 games in the series, has played USC on or after Oct. 12 every year since 1926, when the first meeting between the 2 schools took place.
“USC is the only team in the Big Ten to play a nonconference road game after Week 4 in either of the past 2 seasons. USC is also the only team to play a nonconference game after Week 4 in both seasons,” Cohen said in her statement. “Intentionally making our road to the CFP significantly more difficult than our Big Ten peers does not align with our goal to win championships.”
Cohen mentioned that USC is the only FBS program to have never played an FCS opponent. She said USC wants to play “meaningful” games and will continue to schedule at least one power conference opponent outside of Big Ten play.
“If that opponent is a rival with whom we share a long and storied tradition, all the better,” Cohen said.
USC chased a payday and left the Pac-12 after the 2023 season, triggering the eventual implosion of the league. Since joining the Big Ten, USC has frequently made a fuss about its scheduling quirks — from kickoff times to opponents.
Head coach Lincoln Riley has repeatedly cast doubt on the future of the series with Notre Dame while the Irish have stressed their desire to continue playing the game.
Cohen said in her statement that decisions on future scheduling will include input from Riley, university leadership, and “feedback from stakeholders across the Trojan Family.”
In August, after an offer to extend the series with Notre Dame, Cohen told the Los Angeles Times that the series was an “important” one to USC and to USC fans.
With the 2025 meeting between the 2 schools the last in the scheduling agreement, USC leadership had been reluctant to give Notre Dame what it sought — a long-term deal. USC first offered to extend the series through 2026, which Notre Dame balked at.
“Our ultimate goal … is to compete for and win Big Ten and College Football Playoff championships,” Cohen said Friday. “Playing 9 games annually in the toughest conference in college football to qualify for a playoff for which future selection criteria remain uncertain, we have a limited number of strategic levers to pull in pursuit of that goal.
“Nonconference scheduling is among the most important of these levers. … For the well-being of our student-athletes, and to schedule equitably with our Big Ten rivals, we want to play our nonconference opponents in the Coliseum as early as possible every year.”
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.
