Historic college football rivalry will not be played in 2026, on pause

One of college football’s premier rivalries is ending — for now.

Southern California and Notre Dame are pausing their historic rivalry, as they will not meet in 2026 or 2027.

The news was finalized when the Fighting Irish announced on Monday, Dec. 22 a home-and-home series with Brigham Young next season. The matchup with the Cougars is the 12th and last game finalized for Notre Dame in 2026.

It was expected the rivalry would take a break as both sides worked on continuing their long-standing rivalry, which began in 1926. While USC and Notre Dame wanted to keep the series going, the issue was how the series would continue to be played.

The game takes place at Notre Dame in mid-October in odd years and, when in Los Angeles in even years, occurs in November. The recent deal for series ended with the 2025 game.

The belief was USC wanted the game to be played earlier in the schedule to avoid it being in the middle of conference play. Yahoo Sports reported the two sides were near a deal that would keep the series going for two more years, but USC determined the dates were not ideal.

Considered one of the best rivalries in college football, USC and Notre Dame have played 96 times with little interruptions, including a three-year break during World War II from 1943-45 and in 2020 due to COVID-19. Playing for the Jeweled Shillelagh, the Fighting Irish and Trojans are some of the most successful programs in the country, with a combined 24 national championships, 15 Heisman Trophies and more than 1,000 players picked in the NFL draft.

While it’s unknown if the two teams will play again, USC and Notre Dame said in a joint statement they plan to meet in the future with the hope to continue the series. Yahoo Sports reported the goal is to continue the series in 2030.

‘USC and Notre Dame recognize how special our rivalry is to our fans, our teams, and college football, and our institutions will continue working towards bringing back The Battle for the Jeweled Shillelagh,’ the statement reads. ‘The rivalry between our two schools is one of the best in all of sport, and we look forward to meeting again in the future.’

Notre Dame leads the all-time series 51–37–5 and won the 2025 edition of the game at home, marking the seventh win for the Fighting Irish in the past eight meetings. USC currently has 11 games scheduled for 2026 and needs to find a non-conference opponent to finalize its slate.