The past week has been full of drama surrounding the USC-Notre Dame rivalry. After nearly a century of playing practically every year, the Trojans and Fighting Irish will not meet for at least the next four seasons—news that has certainly drawn a strong reaction.
While USC and Notre Dame both deserve plenty of blame for things getting to this point, another team simultaneously deserves to be praised: USC women’s basketball. Unlike the football program, which appears to be willing to abandon one of college football’s most storied rivalries in favor of an easier path to the College Football Playoff, Lindsay Gottlieb and the Women of Troy have adopted a “we will play any team, anytime, anywhere.”
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USC women’s basketball just wrapped up perhaps the most difficult nonconference schedule in the country. The Trojans scheduled games against four teams ranked in the preseason top 15—including No. 1 UConn and then-No. 2 (currently No. 3) South Carolina. The stretch also featured de facto road games against two other really good opponents in NC State and, ironically enough, Notre Dame.
Obviously, basketball is very different from football, with significantly more margin for error during the regular season. But it is still great to see Gottlieb and the Women of Troy embrace big time nonconference games and show that they are not afraid to play anyone. It would certainly be nice to see the football program have the same mindset.
This article originally appeared on Trojans Wire: Unlike football, USC women’s basketball not afraid of difficult games
