Could Notre Dame vs. USC Become A Rivalry Of The Past After 2025?
The two schools have met 95 times and played each other for 73 consecutive seasons from 1946 to 2019, before the series resumed in 2021.
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College Football Playoff Management Committee
On Thursday, College Football Playoff administrators approved the adoption of a straight-seeding model for the second iteration of the 12-team playoff in 2025.
Moving forward, the four highest-ranked conference champions will not automatically earn first-round byes. Instead, the CFP Committee will rank each team, and the corresponding seed will align with the assigned ranking.
For example, the fourth-ranked team will be seeded fourth moving forward. In December, Penn State was ranked fourth in the final CFP Poll, but entered the postseason seeded sixth.
“After evaluating the first year of the 12-team playoff, the CFP Management Committee felt it was in the best interest of the game to make this adjustment,” CFP executive director Rich Clark said. “… It will also allow us to construct a postseason bracket that recognizes the best performance on the field during the regular season.”
In December, each team that received a first-round bye lost its opening quarterfinal matchup.
Ryan Williams & Jeremiah Smith
Cover Athletes, EA Sports College Football 26
EA Sports’ revealed its cover design on Tuesday afternoon for its highly anticipated College Football 26 video game release, expected for July 10.
The cover features two of the nation’s most exciting wide receivers in Alabama’s Ryan Williams and Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith.
Both second-year phenoms are slated to be on the cover of the game’s standard edition, while the deluxe edition includes several other players, mascots, and coaches to captivate a broader variety of fanbases.
Williams led the Crimson Tide with 865 receiving yards and eight touchdowns last fall, while Smith helped the Buckeyes hoist a national title behind 1,315 yards and 15 touchdown grabs.
Michigan State
Athlon Sports’ college football magazine recently published an article featuring anonymous opinions from coaches across the country who spoke about the state of opposing programs.
Although Michigan State went just 5-7 last season behind only three conference victories, several anonymous Big Ten coaches talked highly of the Spartans’ trajectory under second-year head man Jonathan Smith.
“Smith is applying a very steady plan here,” one coach said. “… They’re just going to improve steadily.”
Other coaches said Michigan State could be the “most improved program this season,” and that “a bowl is definitely possible for them this year.”
Behind the talented arm of third-year commodity Aidan Chiles and the services of physical wideout Nick Marsh on the outside, the Spartans could shock some fans this fall with a schedule that avoids Ohio State and Oregon.
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Coaching Turnover
According to a recent report conducted by CBS Sports’ Brandon Marcello, college football has never seen as many coaching changes as it has within the last two seasons.
“The last two years have been the most hectic on the coaching carousel, with a total of 61 programs changing head coaches, including 30 during the most recent cycle,” per Marcello.
Nearly 45% of all FBS squads changed head coaches during the last two calendar years.
Additionally, throughout this offseason alone, there were 550 total coaching changes when including assistant coaches.
“The chaotic world of NIL contracts and the transfer portal is fueling the brunt of the turnover as coaches struggle to keep up with the workflow,” Marcello wrote.
Protecting Historic Rivalries
USC and Notre Dame hold claim to one of college football’s most storied rivalries, but the series’ future hangs in the balance after the two blue bloods are set to meet on October 18.
According to Sports Illustrated, USC is “reluctant to commit to a long-term extension,” which would renew the matchup on an annual basis.
During last year’s Big Ten Media Days, Trojans’ head coach Lincoln Riley said that his program may have to sacrifice rivalry games to cultivate the “best track to winning a national championship.”
The two schools have met 95 times and played one another for 73 consecutive seasons before the 2020 iteration was canceled due to COVID-19 restrictions.
“There are some changes that we’ve all just gotta accept, because it’s just a part of it right now,” Riley said last week. “But, I think any door that closes, there’s also a new, really exciting door that’s getting opened.”
Between The Numbers 📊
12
Last season, Oregon, Texas, and Ohio State all finished within the top 10 of 247Sports’ transfer portal class rankings, which led to a playoff berth for each squad.
This year, specifically, the SEC is dominating the 2025 portal cycle, which could lead to upcoming playoff dominance.
12 of the SEC’s 16 teams are ranked within the top 25 of the transfer portal rankings, led by LSU, Ole Miss, Missouri, Auburn, and Kentucky, which are slotted firmly within the top 10.
For comparison, the 18-team Big Ten only holds claim to six teams with top 25 portal classes.
Last season, just three SEC teams made the 12-team College Football Playoff, with Alabama, Ole Miss, and South Carolina all on the outside looking in, largely due to competitive intra-conference parity.
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Nick Saban | Former Head Coach, Alabama
“I think expanding the playoff, and having as many teams involved as we can, without playing too many games for the players… is probably a good thing.”
Two weeks ago, Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger reported that a proposed 16-team College Football Playoff bracket had started to gain support from conference commissioners, with momentum spearheaded from the Big Ten and SEC.
Last Tuesday, former Alabama head coach and seven-time national champion Nick Saban said that building a larger field “is probably a good thing” as the sport continues to navigate uncharted territory.
Saban said that a few years ago, he was never a proponent of expanding the playoff in hopes of preserving the pageantry of traditional bowl games.
Now, he believes more playoff games could generate even more buzz and excitement surrounding the sport, which could entice a wider variety of fanbases, regions, and conferences.
If you have any questions, comments, or feedback, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me by email at adam@brenemanmedia.com.
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Shoutout to Connor Krause for helping to write this newsletter and putting it together!
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