Let’s get this out of the way.
Under Lincoln Riley, USC has no interest in continuing the series with Notre Dame. The Trojans joined the Big Ten, increased their travel, and now are playing a schedule that doesn’t resemble the easier one they had in the Pac 10/12.
Add that to the fact that Notre Dame’s program is in a much better place than USC’s, and you see why, in the current landscape of college football, USC is running away from the fight.
While USC has spent the week dreaming about the glory days of the “Bush Push”, Notre Dame lives in the present. A present that allows them to compete for a College Football Playoff every season, while USC lives in a time that no longer exists.
The Trojans have turned into the homecoming king at the 25-year high school reunion, hoping to be relevant again, even if it is for only one night.
Notre Dame fans should expect USC head coach Lincoln Riley to empty the playbook. Nothing is off the table. Riley has always been built up as an offensive savant. The “next” big-time coach who looks like he’s been cast in a Hollywood movie.
For all Riley was built up to be, Marcus Freeman is proving to be that guy in today’s college football landscape.
Freeman is the one who wins on the recruiting trail as he builds upon what Brian Kelly voluntarily left. Freeman proved that a first-time head coach could navigate everything that comes with being the head football coach at Notre Dame.
If you think that is easy, think again. Bob Davie was in a similar position, and his tenure marked a period (1997-2009) of Notre Dame wandering the desert, searching for the next great leader.
Finding the right fit in South Bend is no longer the question, but it is in Los Angeles.
Twenty years ago, no one would have believed that Notre Dame would be better prepared to handle the changing landscape of college football than USC, but here we are.
When the ball kicks off on Saturday night, it will be one last time for USC to prove if it can reach the level where Notre Dame currently resides. A contending program that has the right coach, at the right time, in the right college landscape.
