Notre Dame Agrees to Resume USC Rivalry Starting in 2030, Concedes to Early-Season Schedule

College football’s storied rivalry between Notre Dame and USC will resume in 2030 after scheduling disputes threatened to derail the matchup indefinitely. The two schools announced Monday that they had reached an agreement to restart the series, with the first game set for Week 1 of the 2030 season at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The deal represents a significant concession by Notre Dame, which had previously resisted USC’s push to move games earlier in the season.

The renewed rivalry had been in jeopardy after the schools could not agree on scheduling logistics. USC, competing in the Big Ten Conference, sought early-season games to accommodate conference scheduling demands and provide flexibility for Big Ten team travel. Notre Dame, which maintains independent status with no conference championship obligations, had preferred traditional October dates in Indiana and November matchups in Los Angeles.

Head coach Marcus Freeman had declared in 2025 that timing was irrelevant to him. “It’s pretty black and white for me,” Freeman said at the time, according to BlueAndGold.com. “I want to play USC every year because it’s great for college football.” Despite those public statements, Notre Dame ultimately rejected USC’s scheduling preferences when negotiations intensified.

USC athletic director Jen Cohen said the agreement reflects the importance of the rivalry to both programs. “It remains important for us to play this game early in the season, as it allows us to schedule competitively with our Big Ten peers and takes into account the health and best interests of our student-athletes and program,” Cohen said in a statement.

The new agreement calls for the 2030 game in Los Angeles during Week 1, followed by a Week 1 matchup in South Bend in 2031. The 2032 and 2033 contests will occur within the first three weeks of each season, with flexibility to schedule games in Week 1, 2, or 3. USC head coach Lincoln Riley had previously criticized Freeman and the Irish for failing to honor their stated commitment to the rivalry.

Riley noted the scheduling constraints his program faces as a conference member. “We’re part of a conference. You know, we have a conference schedule to answer to,” Riley told media outlets. “I just wanted it to make sense for our team in terms of playing the rest of the Big Ten and Big Ten team travel.”

The dispute underscored Notre Dame’s advantages as an independent program, particularly its special College Football Playoff arrangement guaranteeing a Top 12 finish automatically qualifies the team for the postseason. The school also maintains control over its non-conference schedule, with only a handful of Atlantic Coast Conference opponents as mandatory opponents, contrasting sharply with the demanding schedules of conference-affiliated programs.