On Thanksgiving Day of 1926 Notre Dame was visiting Nebraska for a football game. A curious couple from Los Angeles were also in attendance that day. They had a reason for being there.

USC athletic director Gwynn Wilson and his wife Marion made the trip to Lincoln, Nebraska, to try and persuade Notre Dame head coach Knute Rockne to begin a rivalry with their Trojans. They were smart. They went after Rockne’s wife, Bonnie, convincing her a every other year trip to LA would suit her well. She agreed, and convinced her husband it would be a good idea.

Rockne not only knew USC head coach Howard Jones from their days at Iowa, but he recommended Jones for the USC job. The leadership at Notre Dame saw a potential windfall of cash if they made the LA connection.

A rivalry was born.

Rockne and his team hopped on a train and made the trip to LA for a December 4, 1926, game versus USC to get this rivalry cooking.

USC versus Notre Dame is the greatest intersectional rivalry in college football history, while some would argue it is the best rivalry period.

The two teams have played 94 times. World War II was the only thing that stopped the two teams from playing. The Trojans and Irish will meet in October for the 95th time. The question on everyone’s mind is, “Will this be the last game in this rivalry?”

With the ever changing landscape of college football, the rivalry between these two schools is in danger of ending after they play in South Bend this year.

The contract for the series needs renewed. Notre Dame is looking for a long term extension, while USC is more interested in renewing it for a year to see how the new playoff system is structured after this season. USC is open to a more long term extension if the game is played at the beginning of the season.

Many in the media, including some at USC, are criticizing the Trojans for not having that “Fight On” spirit their school’s motto indicates. When news first broke of this situation I chorused those sentiments. Lincoln Riley was ducking an opponent to play a soft schedule like so many other schools are doing. Pete Carroll’s motto was to play any opponent anytime, anywhere. That is why Carroll is beloved on a John McKay level at USC.

Those were different times, however,  and I have come around on how I view this saga.

The new conference alignments were always going to jeopardize these types of games. The Big Ten is playing 9 conference games these days, and the SEC may be forced to go to a 9 game conference schedule with the next playoff arrangement. Playing nine conference games with the added pressure of trying to qualify for a playoff spot means more teams will “schedule down” in the out of conference portion of their schedules.

Admittedly, Lincoln Riley has voiced this concern for a while. It may not be a great sound bite, but he isn’t wrong.

Can you imagine traveling to Ohio State, then coming home for Michigan, then traveling back to the Midwest for a game with Notre Dame, and then back home for, let’s say, Oregon. Nobody wants to add a midseason or late season game against a tough opponent with an already brutal conference schedule.

You know who doesn’t have to worry about a brutal conference schedule?

Notre Dame. The Irish refuse to join a conference in football. 

You see, the Fighting Irish think they are special. They think they are better than everyone else. I am not sure that was ever the case, but I certainly know it hasn’t been that way for a long time.

Notre Dame still thinks that way, clinging to their independent status. As an independent they keep all of their TV money from NBC. They keep all of their bowl or playoff money. No sharing with other schools. And, of course, they control their schedule.

Notre Dame has come to expect that everyone will cater to their needs.

 If college football had a backbone they would demand Notre Dame join a conference.  

NBC gave the Irish the TV deal they were looking for. Notre Dame makes certain demands and NBC caters to those demands.

The desperate ACC bends over backwards —or is it forward— to accommodate the Irish. The ACC allowed Notre Dame to join the conference in all the other sports except football. Then when COVID hit, Notre Dame felt it needed to be in a conference because of the compacted season. No worries, the ACC happily accommodated Notre Dame. Then Notre Dame, finding some scheduling difficulties, asked to play a partial ACC schedule. Without joining the ACC, of course. The ACC bent over again.

The one semi punishment the Irish got for being independent was not being able to be seeded in the top four of the playoffs. Now that the seeding will go strictly by ranking, Notre Dame can be considered for those top four spots.

Nobody ever stands up to Notre Dame and their silly illusion of superiority.

Until now. Enter USC.

Most seasons the Irish play a bunch of cream puffs in and around a couple of legit teams. This year’s Notre Dame schedule is the toughest they have faced in quite some time. Usually they are looking for a couple of tough games. In other words, Notre Dame needs USC way more than USC needs Notre Dame.

Why?

Again for the people in the back, Notre Dame refuses to join a conference.

Notre Dame thinks it is special.

The Fighting Irish are not special. It is elitist misperception.

The last time Notre Dame won a national championship was 1988 when Lou Holtz was somewhat coherent. In the past 30 seasons, Notre Dame has finished the season unranked 13 times. Does that sound special? Superior?

Nah.

Finally someone is standing up to Notre Dame. To date, USC is standing their ground.

Apparently it is AD Jen Cohen that is making the stand on behalf of the Trojans. Lincoln Riley has made his feelings known, but Cohen is the one apparently drawing the line in the sand. For USC, playing the game in the opener is not only a sensational way to start the season and get fans fired up for football, but far more palatable than wedging it in between tough conference games. Additionally, a loss in game one is much easier to overcome than one in the middle or end of the season.

Notre Dame doesn’t like that option because they don’t have trouble scheduling teams at the start of the season. They need help filling slots later in the season BECAUSE THEY AREN'T IN A CONFERENCE! Maybe they should bend the ACC over again and demand one more ACC opponent.

I am not suggesting USC is innocent in this saga. Many alumni will be furious if this 100 year tradition goes out the window. Again, college football and everyone’s greed created this.

Oklahoma/Nebraska, Texas/Texas A&M, Rutgers/Syracuse.

Okay, so a little humor to ease the tension. But the point is other rivalries either bit the dust or were put in peril when college football chaos began.

So a compromise is needed in this situation. USC appears to be offering a compromise. The problem is the other school doesn’t do compromise. They’re special.

This rivalry is special. In 1974, as an 8 year old, I became a USC fan because of this game.

 

My favorite memory as an adult also comes from this rivalry. 4th and 9.

 

My son was 3 months old at the time and taking his nap. I went crazy in the quietest way possible. That was followed a few plays later by the infamous “Bush Push”.

 

This rivalry holds a lot of great memories for me, and a lot of bad ones, too. That is what makes it great. Clearly, I want to see this game continue to be played. Having said that, I certainly hope USC doesn’t give in.

Maybe they should suggest Notre Dame joins the Big Ten. But then the Irish would have to share. They don’t like sharing.

So when you point that accusatory finger at the guilty party in this Trojans/Irish rivalry snafu, and that includes my fellow USC brethren, you may want to point in the direction of those golden domers. They need to come off their high horse and be willing to compromise.

I’ve got news for those domers. This ain’t 1926, and they aren’t that special.

Two Cent Takes

NFL

~Brock Purdy is happy his deal will allow the 49ers to build around him. Has there ever been a more average player to be built around?

~The Tush Push lives. Two things that baffle me. Why can’t teams stop it more often and why can’t more teams run the same play themselves?

NBA

~Home court seems to mean nothing in the Eastern Conference Finals and everything in the Western Conference Finals. Again, new teams making it this far makes it more interesting.

NHL

~My Canadian team prediction is looking up. The best team left in the Stanley Cup Playoffs is Edmonton. Florida will certainly have something to say in the finals, but I think Dallas is cooked in the West.

College Football

~The playoffs will be seeded correctly this year. It was announced last week that the seeds will be based strictly on the rankings. There will not be the silly automatic top four seed for conference champs. Now, will the committee rank the teams correctly. Consider me skeptical.

~In 2026 the playoffs will expand to 16 teams. The question will be whether or not the SEC and Big Ten get their wish for 4 auto bids for each conference. Boy, they just won’t be satisfied until they completely ruin the sport.

~Greg Sankey always working that SEC angle.

 

I do agree with him from this angle. Scheduling tough out of conference opponents should be rewarded by the playoff committee. Otherwise we will have a September of crappy games.

College Basketball

~The ACC needs an injection of talented teams. Louisville made the jump last season, and there are two teams positioning themselves to make huge strides this year. Will Wade has totally revamped the NC State roster, bringing in a lot,of talent both in the portal and via recruiting. Micah Shrewsberry, coming off a tension filled season, is bringing in three top 100 recruits to South Bend.

Golf

~You won’t have to worry about me telling you Will Zalatoris is a great long shot pick at any major any time soon. Zalatoris is undergoing his second shoulder surgery and is out for the season. More bad luck for a talented player.

MLB

~Yesterday was Memorial Day, which is the first baseball checkpoint. Here are my quick thoughts:

  • Why doesn’t every team play on Memorial Day? I have never been able to figure that out. Poor marketing/scheduling by MLB.
  • Best Record in Baseball: Phillies.
  • Best Team in Baseball: Tigers.
  • Worst Team in baseball(history): Rockies.
  • Biggest Surprise Good: Cubs and Tigers(tie).
  • Biggest Surprise Bad: Orioles.
  • Next Manager Fired: Ron Washington(Angels)
  • NL MVP: 1. Pete Crow-Armstrong 2. Shohei Ohtani 3. Fernando Tatis
  • AL MVP: 1. Aaron Judge 2. Bobby Witt 3. Alex Bregman
  • NL Cy Young: 1. Zach Wheeler 2. Jesus Luzardo 3. Yoshinobu Yamamoto 
  • AL Cy Young: 1. Kris Bubic 2. Max Fried 3. Garrett Crochet 4. Tarik Skubal
  • World Series Prediction: Phillies vs Yankees

~Ball/strike umpiring continues to be bad. Very bad, in some cases.

 

That probably isn’t even the worst call I have seen this year. Hello automated strike zone.

The Weekly Shiny Penny

Weight lifting? Weight lifting??? At age 90, Jim Mora still goes through his 85 minute workout twice a week and Peleton three times a week. Fantastic!

 

A Penny For My Final Thought…

Memorial Day reminded me of something. When I was a kid I watched all of the ancillary sporting events. The Indianapolis 500, The French Open, Wimbledon, all the Triple Crown horse races, and even the Tour de France were all sporting events I watched religiously as a kid.

Now I don’t watch any of those events.

Sunday, I was doing some yard work when I got an alert on my phone to tell me the winner of the Indy 500. Heck, I didn’t even remember it was happening. The Indy 500 was always on tape delay back in those days, which made it easier to watch at night. I did flip on the French Open yesterday and watched some guy I never heard of fault on a serve. That was plenty. I kept flipping the channels.

I did watch the Kentucky Derby this year out of sheer boredom.

It isn’t that I am more busy now. I was constantly doing something as a kid, but we still carved out time to watch these events. Not only that but as a kid I always had a rooting interest. I was an AJ Foyt fan and cheered for him during the Indy 500. The tennis events had me cheering for my lefty brethren John McEnroe. In the horse races I cheered for whichever horse was wearing red.

I don’t think these events are any different or any less important. They just don’t catch my attention anymore. I don’t cheer for any participants in these events anymore. There are great drivers, great players, and great horses in these events. They are every bit as good as the drivers, players, and horses from my childhood.

I don’t really miss watching these events.

But maybe this helps explain my sports fanaticism.

And don’t get me started about my love of professional wrestling as a kid.

Just my two cents…