In a sport oozing with tradition, the latest tradition is constant change.
The latest example of the ever-shifting landscape of college football is the removal from the national scenery of the annual Notre Dame-USC rivalry.
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Via Adam Rittenberg of ESPN.com, the series that dates to 1926 will end for the “foreseeable future.” Notre Dame will replace USC with BYU for at least the next two years.
USC, per Rittenberg, wants to move the game earlier in the season, during the usual nonconference portion of the Power 4 conference schedules. Typically, they play the South Bend version of the game in October, with the L.A. game ending the season for both teams.
“USC and Notre Dame recognize how special our rivalry is to our fans, our teams, and college football, and our institutions will continue working towards bringing back The Battle for the Jeweled Shillelagh,” Notre Dame and USC said Monday, in a joint statement. “The rivalry between our two schools is one of the best in all of sport, and we look forward to meeting again in the future.”
While far from being rooted in geography, USC-Notre Dame is among the best rivalries in football, nearly on par with Ohio State and Michigan. Over the years, the ongoing games of conference roulette and TV money lottery have killed many of the great annual rivalries.
But, hey, all of the problems with college football trace to players finally getting their fair share, right?
