Trojan Discuss: What to make of uncertainty over way forward for USC-ND sequence

[ad_1] Final week, the sport time was introduced for the subsequent installment of USC's storied rivalry conflict with Notre Dame in October.

This week, the query has emerged whether or not it is going to be the ultimate assembly for some time as that is the final one beneath the present contract.

Sports activities Illustrated's Pat Forde reported this week that USC and Notre Dame have totally different views on the way forward for the sequence.

Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua instructed Forde, "I believe Southern Cal and Notre Dame ought to play yearly for so long as faculty soccer is performed, and SC is aware of that’s how we really feel.”

USC, as a substitute, provided a one-year extension to the sequence, per Forde's report.

“We would like the USC–Notre Dame rivalry to proceed, which is why we provided an extension of our settlement,” USC affiliate athletic director Cody Worsham stated to Forde. “It’s a particular sport to our followers and our establishment. We'll proceed to work with Notre Dame on scheduling future video games.”

That the Trojans have not already signed on the dotted line to proceed the sequence into perpetuity should not come as a complete shock. We wrote on this web site final yr "Is the way forward for the USC-Notre Dame rivalry sequence in jeopardy?"

Coach Lincoln Riley had been requested about the way forward for the sequence beforehand, together with at Large Ten Media Day final July.

"I might like to. I might like to. I do know it means rather a lot to lots of people, so once more, the purist in you, little question. Now, should you get to a place the place it's important to decide on what's finest for 'SC to assist us win a nationwide championship vs. maintaining that, shoot, you then gotta have a look at it," Riley stated.

"We're not the primary instance of that. Look all throughout the nation -- there's been lots of different groups sacrifice rivalry video games. I am not saying that is what is going on to occur, however , as we get into this playoff construction, and if it modifications or not, we're on this new convention, we will be taught one thing about this as we go. And what the precise and one of the best monitor is to profitable a nationwide championship, like, that is going to evolve."

USC and Notre Dame have performed yearly however 4 since 1924, together with three years with no sport throughout World Struggle II and in the course of the shortened 2020 COVID season.

Riley was occupied with evaluating how the School Soccer Playoff committee evaluated energy of schedule and marquee non-conference video games on this new tremendous convention period with the bulked-up Large Ten and SEC particularly already offering extra of a gauntlet than ever earlier than.

It is unclear if final yr supplied sufficient readability on the matter, because the three groups with essentially the most motive to really feel snubbed weren't denied by a non-conference loss. Nonetheless, all three -- Alabama (9-3 in regular-season), Miami (10-2) and South Carolina (9-3) -- did have notable non-conference wins that every felt did not get the load they deserved.

Alabama performed a loaded SEC schedule as typical and in addition beat Large Ten foe Wisconsin 42-10 on the highway, however its losses to Vanderbilt, Tennessee and Oklahoma stored it out of the 12-team playoff discipline.

“I need to play aggressive video games, we need to play one of the best video games,” Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer. “It undoubtedly wasn’t rewarded, it felt like, with our schedule and the wins we had in opposition to groups that have been ranked or now ranked and even ranked on the time.”

Miami opened its season with a non-conference win over Florida and rolled by means of many of the common season, however late losses to Georgia Tech and Syracuse stored it out.

And South Carolina received its ultimate six video games, together with a win over ranked non-conference rival Clemson within the ultimate week of the common season, however it wasn't sufficient.

The mayor of Columbia, S.C., Daniel Rickenmann vented concerning the snub afterward, per CNN.

“Clearly energy of schedule, losses to unranked groups, and margin of victory weren't taken into consideration," he wrote on Fb.

USC wasn't near the playoffs final yr, so it is unattainable to understand how a lot a loss to then No. 5-ranked Combating Irish within the regular-season finale would have been evaluated. Or fairly, what a win over the Irish any yr would do to spice up the Trojans' case.

It appears probably Riley and USC's administration need extra time to judge these questions and the way the playoff committee adjusts or continues to judge such video games when setting the playoff discipline.

However in the end, Riley has made clear that what issues most shouldn't be custom and historical past -- and one can have a separate debate over whether or not that is proper or improper (there'll certainly be robust advocates on each side) -- however what positions his program to have one of the best probability to contend for championships.

"Bama was forward of the curve for years, I assumed, with how they scheduled within the non-conference. They might sometimes hit the marquee non-conference sport, they'd play two different not excellent groups, they'd play one late so that they bought basically a bye week there late within the season when your season's been happening, you are a bit of beat up. They did not schedule for his or her followers -- they scheduled to win championships," Riley stated again at Large Ten Media Days final yr.

"My hope is we are able to do one of the best factor, schedule to win championships, and that features a rivalry sport for all that comes with that and all that it means. However should you get in these positions you gotta decide on what the precedence is. It is not a straightforward reply."