Notre Dame announced Monday a two-game football series with BYU for 2026 and ’27, an interesting but fairly benign development on the face of it. But when viewed within the totality of the Fighting Irish’s future schedules, it likely spells the end—or at least an interruption—to the annual series with USC.
Notre Dame will play at BYU in 2026 and the Cougars will visit the Irish in ’27. Given that, the math is problematic for fitting in a 97th game against the Trojans in what has been one of the most historically significant and beloved rivalries in college football. Aside from the pandemic season of 2020, Notre Dame and USC have played each other since 1946 in a matchup that often has impacted the national championship race.
