Lincoln Riley Catching Heat After Marcus Freeman's USC-Notre Dame Comments
Lincoln Riley Catching Heat After Marcus Freeman's USC-Notre Dame Comments originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
With the landscape of college football frequently changing, certain aspects of the sport have also begun to look different over the past few years.
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Whether it's the expansion of the College Football Playoff, the wild west that is NIL and the transfer portal or conference realignment, the sport looks infinitely different than it did five years ago.
One of the casualties of realignment has been historic rivalries, as programs such as Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are no longer playing, and they aren't the only one who have faced that fate or eventually will.
As fans look ahead to the next few years, one historic college football rivalry that seems to be on pace to cease to exist is USC and Notre Dame. The two programs have played every year since World War II outside of the COVID season, yet the partnership is only scheduled through 2026.
In a recent interview with Joel Klatt, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman made it clear he doesn't want the game to come to an end, but expressed "it takes both parties to tango."
Many fans took this as a nod at USC coach Lincoln Riley who hasn't been vocal about continuing the rivalry at all, with many imploring Riley to help save the rivalry.
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"Freeman understands rivalry games and why they're important. That coward in LA doesn't get it, and would rather have a soft schedule," wrote one user.
"Marcus Freeman keeps showing Lincoln Riley how easy it is to talk about the USC-Notre Dame rivalry," chimed in another.
"One coach is vocally and emphatically committed to playing the rivalry. One coach skates around the question constantly. The easiest case of good guy/bad guy I've ever seen," added a third.
USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley and Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman.© Matt Cashore-Imagn Images
Earlier this month Riley was asked about addressing the future of the game by On3's Pete Nakos, and seemingly dodged the question with a vague open-ended statement.
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"We will at the appropriate time," said Riley.
There is still some time before this rivalry ultimately ends, but clearly Notre Dame is making it known they aren't the ones holding up the process.
Related: Former USC Commit Raves About Meeting With Ex-Trojans Head Coach
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 18, 2025, where it first appeared.
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