Rivalry with Irish is full of prestige


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The Greatest Intersectional Rivalry in College Football.

That’s what they like to call the annual showdown between USC and Notre Dame that first took place in 1925. The tale goes that USC was looking for a “rival” from somewhere besides the West Coast, and went after Notre Dame. Legendary Irish coach Knute Rockne didn’t like the idea of all the travel involved, but his wife wanted to get out of snowy South Bend and out to sunny Southern California, and the rest is history.

But why? How does this rivalry still hold so strong, almost 90 years later? Both teams treat this game as the most important on their schedules, and this is a fact. In years when the Irish come to Los Angeles, USC puts them on Thanksgiving weekend. It’s not any old game that gets played then. And every year, every home game Notre Dame plays starts at 3:30 p.m. ET. Except for one. That’s always the Trojans.

Here’s the thing: I didn’t grow up with USC, as many here did. I didn’t follow the rise of Pete Carroll or the dominance of Reggie Bush (Am I allowed to say that? Is he a real person? I can’t tell anymore). Of course I watched their incredible achievements, especially when they came at the expense of the Cal Bears teams I pulled for (and Cal was actually quite good back then). And of course I saw the Bush-push game; an instant classic in the annals of college football lore. But I wasn’t versed in “Trojan Spirit,” so to speak. Or history.

The first USC home game I ever attended was Nov. 29, 2008. It was against Notre Dame (it was also the last time the Trojans beat the Irish at home), and a terrible Notre Dame team. This was a bad time for Notre Dame football — the second of three straight seasons without a winning record in the regular season, a 16-21 mark over that stretch — but this game might have been the worst of them all, including a 38-0 shutout the year before. The Irish had 91 yards of total offense. They didn’t even so much as get a first down until the last play of the third quarter, and received heavy and sarcastic applause from the Trojan faithful when they finally did.

But what I remember most is the Notre Dame fans. Specifically, I remember their shirts. They had a shiny “golden dome” printed on the front, accompanied by four words: “Notre Dame football: Tradition.” It was impossible not to roll my eyes, in much the same way opposing fans do when the USC band plays those two bars of “Tribute to Troy” for the 18th time in the first quarter alone.

I walked away from that game joking that I was choking on the “smug” (with a U) emanating from both fanbases at the Coliseum (this was right after the South Park episode came out. You either know what I’m talking about or you don’t). They were both so full of it, so arrogant, so damn proud. And I realized right then why these two teams are rivals.

Both programs have insanely high opinions of themselves, justifiably so. Eleven National Championships and 32 bowl wins sort of speak here for itself. And as groan-inducing as Notre Dame’s “Tradition” shirts might be, they’re true. This evening, I will be getting on a plane to Chicago. Saturday, I will walk into Notre Dame Stadium. And I have never been more excited for a road game.

I’ve made some cool trips in my time covering USC football — the Weekender every year, Seattle last season. I was at Autzen Stadium when USC upset Oregon in Eugene back in 2011. But this is different. This is Notre Dame. Perhaps it is unfair to places such as Austin (Texas), State College (Pennsylvania) or Baton Rouge (Louisiana), but South Bend is college football’s Mecca. The slash mark endzones, Touchdown Jesus, “Play like a champion today.” Notre Dame Stadium is an icon, a cathedral of the game, if you will.

“It’s a great place to play,” USC interim head coach Ed Orgeron said of South Bend. “You grew up watching it, USC-Notre Dame. You wanted to be a part of it.”

The Trojans’ mantra, like just about all other teams, tends to be along the lines of “one game at a time.” But come on now, this is Notre Dame week.

Junior wide receiver Marqise Lee admitted that “Notre Dame is a big, big game for us.”

“The atmosphere there is amazing,” said redshirt sophomore quarterback Cody Kessler, who made the trip with the team in 2011 while redshirting. “To be able to start and play in this game is just so big, the tradition, all the great names that have played in this game. I’m very excited.”

Aren’t we all.

 

“Any Given Saturday” runs on Thursdays, ironically. To explain to Nick how this makes no sense, or comment on this column, email him at [email protected] or visit 

dailytrojan.com.