How Bad Do We Need This USC Rivalry Back?

Extremely important. Im 59, going to be 60, and grew up on this game and so many memories, good and really bad! It needs to be played.

Neither team needs it, it's a want. You should want to play and beat your rival every year. Osu and Michigan could never play again and those programs would be fine but neither would ever want that. Rivalries are what makes college sports great, the greed of the B1G and sec are killing everything great about the sport, don't let it kill another great rivalry like they have so many already.

USC only wanting to do it because the playoff is expanding to 24 soon. This would not be happening if it stayed at 12 or even 16.

USC is soft, and Lincoln Riley wasn't unhappy when ND came off their schedule because he already watches his team get out-muscled by most of the top half of the Big 10. The Trojans are pretty good at flash & sizzle, but against teams which have the speed on defense to keep up with their offense, SC struggles. Marcus Freeman can afford to be more confident and willing to see tough teams appear on his team's schedule because they have a roster that is far stronger than it was when he took over the job. The coaching staff he has assembled is one of the strongest in the country as both recruiters and position coaches, so coach Freeman knows he's built an elite program and isn't scared of tough competition. The man's nature as a former high-level player is more physical and aggressive anyway, and his team feeds on Freeman's attitude and swagger in how they carry themselves as well.

Was upset when cancelled ... but honestly, who cares? As long as ND schedule has: 1 - no true ridiculous cupcakes 2 - 2 opponents in the top 25 3 - includes mostly "winning" programs from P4 conferences (Winning means 7-5, 8-4 type teams) I'm good with it. No one else is playing a schedule that is much harder than that on a consistent basis .... and by going to 24 CFP teams ... you're destroying the value of the regular season anyways. Being a CFP team is going to be equal to getting a participation trophy going forward.

Smpep said:

Was upset when cancelled ... but honestly, who cares? As long as ND schedule has: 1 - no true ridiculous cupcakes 2 - 2 opponents in the top 25 3 - includes mostly "winning" programs from P4 conferences (Winning means 7-5, 8-4 type teams) I'm good with it. No one else is playing a schedule that is much harder than that on a consistent basis .... and by going to 24 CFP teams ... you're destroying the value of the regular season anyways. Being a CFP team is going to be equal to getting a participation trophy going forward.

how i feel about it. Just dont care anymore and I am over all the crying from Lincoln Riley. Talks all this crap before and after the season and when thing go south on him he makes excuses .

Sorry we kicked your ass so much you felt you had to leave, USC. Please come back. I promise we won't change our behavior and the annual ass whoopings will resume.

The game should be agreed to play anytime and anywhere. Afraid of week 0? Grow a pair.

ZakHerbstreit said:

Finally some good news for college football. Talks between the two programs have resumed to get this rivalry back on track. I just dropped a video breaking down what this could mean moving forward, but I want to hear from you too. How important is this game to you?

ND needs it and college football needs it

ND needs it more than USC does... but that doesn't change the fact that USC ran away as soon as they could.

UDPride said:

The game should be agreed to play anytime and anywhere. Afraid of week 0? Grow a pair.

Why absolve USC though? Shouldn't they "grow a pair"? They were the ones who cancelled the scheduled game. I don't think anyone is "afraid" of week 0, it's just not the preference or tradition. There also isn't a valid reason it can't be played in September or early October to accommodate both (which ND was offering). I'd personally prefer week 0 to no game (unless its in Mexico City in August as USC suggested.. that's a no for me dawg).. but I also recognize week 0 (soon to be 1 with the schedule change so everyone gets 2 byes) is the easiest for ND to schedule other big programs.

They’re a soft program, but their name still carry’s some weight. So it’s nice to have a game on the schedule that ND should win most years.

The only thing I would miss not playing the Condoms would be eyeballing their outstanding cheerleaders.

UDPride said:

The game should be agreed to play anytime and anywhere. Afraid of week 0? Grow a pair.

USC wants to move our home game from one of the months, October, where we have some struggles finding good opponents to the month where we have zero issues finding a quality opponent. That's not a very favorable big picture scheduling move for us.

twalsh said:

USC wants to move our home game from one of the months, October, where we have some struggles finding good opponents to the month where we have zero issues finding a quality opponent. That's not a very favorable big picture scheduling move for us.

While I wholeheartedly agree; that's a Notre Dame issue, not an issue any other program should have to worry about. In general, this issue is what likely kills NDs Independence. Every program in the country could tell ND "we'd love to play you, it just has to be in weeks 1-3." And with the feud between the ACC and Notre Dame, there's no way this current scheduling agreement is renewed... and I wouldn't be shocked if they're looking for a way to end it early to force NDs hand.

UDPride said:

The game should be agreed to play anytime and anywhere. Afraid of week 0? Grow a pair.

ND is a football independent. The first 4 weeks of the season has traditionally been the only time ND has been able to schedule strong conference teams before the start of their conference seasons. This is one reason it was great for ND to play USC in mid to late October in South Bend and then in LA during Thanksgiving weekend. It was also a reason the ACC deal was so beneficial - it provided ND with teams to play in October and November. Moving the game to week zero removes one of those "first four game" openings. That is why ND was not happy with USC's decision to scrap the traditional dates. The fact that ND has been kicking USC's ass for the past decade would seem to indicate that ND did not need to grow a pair. The school lacking the pair is USC.

Schools are afraid to play Notre Dame .

UDPride said:

The game should be agreed to play anytime and anywhere. Afraid of week 0? Grow a pair.

Week 0 would mean the game couldn’t be played on either campus. You do understand that right? Week 0 is for international or neutral site games and requires a waiver from the NCAA. It’s not available for regular historic rivalry games - that’s what rivalry week is really for but USC has been a b*tch about coming to ND in November for more than 20 years. Ultra Soft Charmin is the university MO

Zero amount. Fuck those wankers. Wake me when they hire a coach with a bigger dick than their dipshit lady AD.

UDPride said:

The game should be agreed to play anytime and anywhere. Afraid of week 0? Grow a pair.

that would fine if USC wasnt constantly moving the goal posts especially with the week zero nonsense which could not even happen.

UDPride said:

The game should be agreed to play anytime and anywhere. Afraid of week 0? Grow a pair.

Oh fuck off. ND shouldn't bend over backwards to submit to SC's whims. That's not what an actual rivalry is. Also, that jokeass offer was an unvitation. Unserious offer from unserious people who are terrified to actually play us.

It used to be an essential game, but so many changes have neutered the intrigue. The Pac 8 (10) (12) is a shadow of itself, and USC is now in the Big Ten. With such a dwindling of tradition, there's no longer any cache. I'd prefer having a home and home with UCLA, IMO a superior school.

With the playoff looking like it’s moving to 24 there’s no reason whatsoever for ND to bow down to SC. They’ll just be subject to beat downs by good Big Ten teams instead of Notre Dame for a while. I think they deserve no Notre Dame until the A.D. and scared coach that ended the rivalry and then played a public relations game are gone. That’s their punishment.

Smpep said:

Was upset when cancelled ... but honestly, who cares? As long as ND schedule has: 1 - no true ridiculous cupcakes 2 - 2 opponents in the top 25 3 - includes mostly "winning" programs from P4 conferences (Winning means 7-5, 8-4 type teams) I'm good with it. No one else is playing a schedule that is much harder than that on a consistent basis .... and by going to 24 CFP teams ... you're destroying the value of the regular season anyways. Being a CFP team is going to be equal to getting a participation trophy going forward.

Most SEC schedules more difficult than this years Irish schedule !