Before the season began, any conversation about which teams were the toughest for the Irish to play always included the USC Trojans. Somewhere in everyone’s top three, Notre Dame’s biggest rival stood out like a sore thumb. This isn’t an odd year October clash inside Notre Dame Stadium — it’s the even year trip out to Los Angeles to close out the season. Those games are much different.
Despite anything else you might have heard, this battle for the Jeweled Shillelagh is the winning prize in the greatest intersectional rivalry in college football — along with so much more.