One of college football’s most storied rivalry series is taking a break.
Notre Dame and USC will not play in 2026 after months of negotiations failed to produce an agreement for what would have been the 97th meeting in the series, according to Ross Dellenger of Yahoo! Sports. Both schools are now moving forward with alternative scheduling plans for that season.
As part of that shift, Notre Dame has officially announced a two-year home-and-home series with BYU. The Irish will travel to Provo, Utah, in October 2026 before hosting the Cougars in South Bend in 2027.
The interruption of the Notre Dame-USC series is troubling to many concerned about the future and traditions of the sport.
Next season’s game would have marked the 79th consecutive meeting between the programs, excluding the COVID-impacted 2020 season. The rivalry, which began in 1926, has only previously been paused for a three-year stretch during World War II.
The series is among the most-watched in the game.
Dellenger’s sources pointed to scheduling complications and College Football Playoff considerations as central to the breakdown in negotiations.
Discussions between administrators at both schools surprisingly stalled over the past two weeks after momentum toward an extension appeared to be building late last month, according to Dellenger.
“In fact, the two programs were on the verge of finalizing a two-year extension of their agreement in late November, with USC agreeing to host Notre Dame next season on the traditional date after Thanksgiving and the Irish hosting in 2027,” Dellenger wrote.
“However, USC officials determined that the game date was not ideal considering past decisions from the CFP selection committee in punishing schools for losses, especially those late in the season.”
The two schools will continue to discuss getting the game back on the schedule in the future, but Dellenger noted a restart date may not come until 2030.
Notre Dame’s newly announced BYU series comes shortly after the Irish opted out of a bowl game this postseason, a decision that prevented a Notre Dame-BYU matchup in this year’s Pop-Tarts Bowl.
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