(Photo: John Mattera)
One of college football’s greatest rivalries will continue — but it comes at the expense of a future Notre Dame series with Indiana.
Notre Dame and USC announced Monday that the two programs have agreed to a four-game home-and-home series from 2030 through 2033, ensuring that a rivalry dating back more than a century will remain part of the college football landscape.
The Irish will travel to Los Angeles to face USC on Aug. 31, 2030, before the Trojans visit Notre Dame Stadium on Aug. 30, 2031. The 2032 and 2033 games will also be played early in the season, with both scheduled to take place within the first three weeks.
The addition of USC to Notre Dame’s future schedules will also result in the cancellation of the Irish’s previously scheduled home-and-home series with Indiana in 2030 and 2031, according to On3’s Pete Nakos.
Notre Dame was scheduled to host Indiana on Aug. 31, 2030, before making the return trip to Bloomington on Sept. 27, 2031. The series had originally been announced in 2021.
The cancellation eliminates what would have been Notre Dame’s first trip to Bloomington since 1950.
Notre Dame and Indiana most recently met in the first round of the 2024 College Football Playoff, when the Irish defeated the Hoosiers 27-17 at Notre Dame Stadium. Notre Dame holds a 24-5-1 advantage in the all-time series, with Indiana’s last victory coming in 1950.
The USC announcement also represents a significant change in when the longtime rivals will meet. Traditionally, USC has traveled to South Bend in October, while Notre Dame’s trips to Los Angeles have come in late November. All four games in the newly announced series will instead be played early in the season.
Notre Dame and USC first met in 1926, when Knute Rockne took his team across the country by train and came away with a 13-12 victory. The programs have met 96 times, with Notre Dame holding a 53-38-5 advantage in the series.
The Irish have controlled the rivalry recently. Notre Dame is 3-1 against USC under Marcus Freeman, including double-digit victories in each of the last three meetings, and has won eight of the last 10 games in the series.
The teams play for the Jeweled Shillelagh, a tradition dating to 1952.
While Notre Dame-USC will look different when it resumes — including its new place on the calendar — the four-game agreement ensures that one of college football’s most storied rivalries will continue through at least 2033.