The prospect of traveling to “sunny Southern California” in November seemed a lot better than spending Thanksgiving in the unforgiving Nebraska cold in 1926. Both USC athletic director Gwynn Wilson’s wife, Marion, and then Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne’s wife, Bonnie, were thrilled. However, while Marion had convinced her friend of the holiday-esque benefits, the latter still had to convince her husband. Well, let’s just say Rockne didn’t mind the 2,000-mile distance—initially a huge concern—once he envisioned himself on the beach. Every year since then (except two), the USC-Notre Dame rivalry game has been the star of the CFB schedule. But what if we told you, that’s not going to happen for much longer?

As things currently stand, the community is rife with whispers of an unceremonious end to the tradition. Just to be clear, the Irish athletic director Pete Bevacqua has made it clear that he’s all in. “I think Southern Cal and Notre Dame should play every year for as long as college football is played, and SC knows that’s how we feel.” However, their rival doesn’t seem too keen on the idea, offering just a one-year extension to play in Los Angeles in 2026. As per Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde, the university has shown reluctance to a future commitment “due to uncertainty about the future College Football Playoff format, and while assessing the demands of greater travel as a member of the Big Ten.” CBS Sports’ Josh Pate dived further. Unsurprisingly, USC has a lot more to gain than lose if they decide to pull the plug.

“If we did nothing more than remove Notre Dame from USC’s schedule and put a random G5 opponent…USC would go from having the fifth toughest schedule in the Big 10 to the 13th toughest schedule in the Big 10. So, it means a lot,” Pate said on the May 21 episode of Josh Pate’s College Football Show, before delivering a pointed monologue toward Lincoln Riley.

“There are many things about this sport that are fundamental in nature. There are many things about this sport that are woven into the fabric, into the DNA of college football that should be non-negotiables. The head coach at USC should never have the power to influence whether they play Notre Dame or not every year, the AD…because they 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.”

“Can you imagine that war cancels your game, pandemic cancels your game, and you are worried, ‘We may not make the playoffs because we’re 9-3 instead of 10-2?’…Pathetic…Lincoln Riley he shouldn’t be in position to influence it. It should be there when you take the job at USC, or you take the job at Notre Dame as the AD or as the head coach…Lincoln Riley shouldn’t even have this as a concern,” Pate further said. Interestingly, Riley also had a lot to say about it last year.

“If you get in a position where you got to make a decision on what’s best for SC to help us win a national championship vs. keeping that, shoot, then you got to look at it,” he had said. The community’s two cents? It’s high time that Riley strengthens his boys by scheduling up instead of scheduling down.

Because Riley is already having a hard time saving his job.

No room for error for Lincoln Riley

The Trojans’ head coach caught the side eye from one of the most critical men in college football. ESPN’s Paul Finebaum said following the 2024 regular season, “Would someone in California explain to me why Lincoln Riley, as of almost noon, is still the head coach of (USC)?” He further thought of fueling the hate. “What has he done? He had the one season with Caleb Williams. Last year I thought that was a disaster, but then again, I forgot about this season.” Gone are those days when Riley was the most sought-after head coach in college football.

When USC hired Riley, it was the largest contract in coaching at $10.1 million. Right now, he holds the No.6 rank among the highest-paid college coaches. Even though his contract runs through 2031, Riley gets to live up to the standards. Roster construction was Riley’s single biggest error in 2024. In all, USC allowed 22 quarterback pressures, the most since he became the head coach.

So, going by the buzz, many are for Riley’s job with the buyout figures around $90 million doing the rounds. The pitchforks are already out for Riley. When he took the reins, the Trojans were 4-18, and a year later they went 11-3, but then again USC dipped to 8-5. That’s because he made some faulty moves. For instance, hired Alex Grinch, who should never have been the defensive coordinator. Riley’s margin for error is gone—every move from here on out could be the one that defines his coaching fate.