{"id":11578139,"date":"2025-07-24T21:41:49","date_gmt":"2025-07-25T01:41:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/?p=11578139&preview=true&preview_id=11578139"},"modified":"2025-07-25T12:50:29","modified_gmt":"2025-07-25T16:50:29","slug":"big-ten-media-days-usc-notre-dame-northwestern","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.baltimoresun.com\/2025\/07\/24\/big-ten-media-days-usc-notre-dame-northwestern\/","title":{"rendered":"Big Ten media days: USC-Notre Dame rivalry expires in 2026 \u2014 with no sure bet it will be extended"},"content":{"rendered":"

LAS VEGAS \u2014 All the reshuffling of schedules, conferences and playoff formats in college football has placed one of the sport\u2019s best traditions in peril: the USC-Notre Dame game.<\/p>\n

The contract for a rivalry that dates to 1926 expires after their game in 2026.<\/p>\n

Both schools have expressed a willingness to lock down more games, but differences over how many appear to be holding up the negotiations.<\/p>\n

USC\u2019s move to the Big Ten gave the Trojans less flexibility in their nonconference schedule. Big Ten teams have nine conference games and only three open slots.<\/p>\n

Speaking at Big Ten media days Thursday, Trojans coach Lincoln Riley said he was, of course, hopeful the series will continue. But not at any cost.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to play the game. Absolutely. It\u2019s one of the reasons I came here,\u201d Riley said. \u201cBut also my allegiance and my loyalty is not to Notre Dame and it\u2019s not to anybody else. I\u2019m the head football coach at USC, and I\u2019m going to back USC.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some of the uncertainty revolves around the College Football Playoff.<\/p>\n

The Trojans have lost six of the last seven against Notre Dame. If CFP leaders decide to award four automatic bids to the Big Ten, which is the conference\u2019s preference<\/a>, a long-term deal to play the Irish might be more palatable to USC.<\/p>\n

A system with more at-large bids, however, would make it more difficult, from a CFP standpoint, to absorb a nonconference loss.<\/p>\n

Northwestern video vibes<\/h4>\n

Preston Stone is a good ol\u2019 Texas boy who starred in high school for Parish Episcopal in Dallas and then spent four years at SMU. After entering the transfer portal following last season, however, he finally got to visit a team he once admired from afar \u2014 behind a video-game controller when he was 11 years old.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor absolutely no reason whatsoever, when I was a little kid playing NCAA 14, I would always be Northwestern,\u201d Stone said. \u201cThey had really cool black uniforms and they had a fast quarterback in Kain Colter, who I used to love playing with in the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SMU
SMU quarterback Preston Stone passes during practice on Aug. 9, 2024, in Dallas. Stone transferred to Northwestern this offseason. (LM Otero\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So after touring the campus and meeting Wildcats coach David Braun and offensive coordinator Zach Lujan, Stone was sold on transferring from the Lone Star State to Evanston.<\/p>\n

\u201cFacilities are incredible. I think we have the best indoor in the whole country,\u201d Stone said. \u201cYou could feel a level of sincerity from Coach Braun. That was just different.<\/p>\n

“And first meeting Coach Lujan, you could tell from the first couple minutes with him how incredibly smart of an offensive mind he is. I knew that if I came here, they were going to set me up for success.\u201d<\/p>\n

An encore for UCLA\u2019s Foster<\/h4>\n
\"UCLA
UCLA coach DeShaun Foster talks with reporters during Big Ten media days at Lucas Oil Stadium on July 24, 2024, in Indianapolis. (Doug McSchooler\/AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

If UCLA improves on the field as much as coach DeShaun Foster did behind the mic at Big Ten media days, this could be a good year for the Bruins.<\/p>\n

Foster spoke Thursday and made fun of his 2024 appearance, which included a cringeworthy 72-second opening statement<\/a> highlighted by this observation about the program he was taking over: \u201cI\u2019m sure you guys don\u2019t know much about UCLA, our football program, but we\u2019re in LA.\u201d<\/p>\n