Notre Dame-USC rivalry returns in 2030, for at least four years

One of the greatest rivalries in college football won’t happen this year, exactly one century after USC and Notre Dame first played.

They’ll pick it up again in 2030.

Via Ryan Kartje of the L.A. Times, the Trojans and the Irish have agreed on a four-year home-and-home arrangement beginning in four years.

The series fell apart because USC wanted to move it earlier in the year. Notre Dame resisted. In the end, the first two games in 2030 and 2031 will be played in Week 1, with the 2030 contest at the L.A. Coliseum and the 2031 showdown at South Bend. The 2032 and 2033 editions will land between Week 1 and Week 3.

After 2033, they’ll have to agree to continue. Hopefully, they will. Too many great rivalries have been lost in recent decades, as conferences have constantly expanded and shifted and created all sorts of odd matchups that defy the traditions that make college football great.

For the next four seasons, it’ll be a little less great without an annual Notre Dame vs. USC game. Come 2030, it will return — for at least four years and hopefully for a lot longer.