One of the biggest storylines of the college football offseason centered on the breakdown of Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame’s rivalry matchup with USC. The rivalry featured two of college football’s most historic programs, but the dispute between the schools largely came down to scheduling and timing issues.
Why Colin Cowherd’s Comments on Marcus Freeman’s Notre Dame Sparked Backlash
A Los Angeles Times report on Monday revealed that Notre Dame and USC have resumed discussions about reviving their rivalry. Ryan Kartje reported that both programs are once again negotiating, but there is still no clarity on when the series could return or what the agreement would look like.
Meanwhile, Colin Cowherd said on his podcast Tuesday that Notre Dame has come “crawling” back to USC because the Fighting Irish are running out of quality opponents to schedule.
Cowherd said USC holds all the leverage because of its position in the Big Ten, but several reporters and analysts quickly pushed back.
“Love Colin. But not sure where he’s getting information here. That information is dead wrong. Laughably wrong. Check those SC sources, my friend,” Vic Lombardi of Altitude TV wrote.
“This is all very confusing. Not even sure where to start,” The Athletic’s Pete Sampson wrote.
“On the one hand we’re being told Notre Dame is raiding the fridge, kicking dogs, banging wives, not paying rent, on the other hand we’re being told they have no leverage and are crawling back to USC to play a week 0 game in Mexico. A reminder words don’t have to mean anything,” Irish Sports Daily’s Greg Flammang wrote.
Cowherd also explained that USC does not need another cold-weather matchup in October squeezed between games against Ohio State and Indiana, Penn State and Oregon, while Notre Dame does. He also said that the Big Ten bringing in Oregon, Washington, and USC, along with the SEC adding Texas and Oklahoma, combined with NIL making programs like Vanderbilt and Indiana more competitive, has made schools less interested in scheduling Notre Dame.
Those comments also triggered some former Notre Dame players.
“You have really turned yourself into Skip Bayless… @colincowherd,” former Notre Dame wide receiver Robby Toma wrote.
“L take,” ex-Notre Dame quarterback Malik Zaire wrote.
Notre Dame owns a 51-37-5 advantage over USC in the all-time rivalry, including wins in the last three meetings. The previous agreement between the two schools expired after the 2025 game, which was a 34-24 win for Freeman’s program.
With the rivalry off the schedule this season, Notre Dame announced a future home-and-home series with BYU beginning in 2026, while USC is preparing to face San Jose State in Week 0. The PFSN College Football Playoff Predictor currently gives the Irish an 82.9% chance to reach the 2026 playoff, while USC holds a 50.3% probability.
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