USC is preparing to play in the Big Ten for the first time this fall, and in a conference loaded with some of college football's best programs, there's a natural question about whether or not it's in the program's best interest to keep its annual rivalry game with another college football power, Notre Dame.
Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley was asked about the annual game with the Irish during Big Ten media day on Wednesday, and while the purist in him would love to see the rivalry game continue, the pursuit of national championships may lead to different scheduling plans in the future.
"I would love to," Riley said on Wednesday when asked about the game. "I know it means a lot to a lot of people. The purist in you, no doubt. Now if you get in a position where you got to make a decision on what's best for SC to help us win a national championship vs. keeping that, shoot, then you got to look at it.
"And listen, we're not the first example of that. Look all the way across the country. There has been a lot of other teams sacrifice rivalry games. And I'm not saying that's what's going to happen. But as we get into this playoff structure, and if it changes or not, we're in this new conference, we're going to learn something about this as we go and that the right and the best track is to winning a national championship, that's going to evolve."
The quiet part that Riley is saying out loud is in regard to scheduling an easier nonconference schedule, especially with the daunting Big Ten schedule that awaits the Trojans beginning this fall. Does it make sense for USC to schedule another tough game out of conference that could be losable and could keep the program out of the 12-team playoff race? That's a question that will need to be answered moving forward.
Riley cited Alabama's nonconference schedule recently and how it's been strategic to help the program compete for national championships and remain in the playoff race.
"Bama was ahead of the curve for years, right?" Riley continued. "I thought, on how they scheduled in the nonconference, right? They would occasionally hit the marquee nonconference game, they played two other not very good teams, they'd play one late so that they got essentially a little bit of a bye week right there late in the season when your season's been going on and you're a little beat up."
"They didn't schedule for the fans. They scheduled to win championships. And so my hope is we can do the best thing, schedule to win championships — and that includes a rivalry game for all that comes with that and all that it means. But if you get in those positions, you got to make a decision on what the priority is. It's not an easy answer."
Riley and USC will have to make some key decisions going forward, but it appears that another historic college football rivalry is on tentative footing, all thanks to the newest, and brashest, iteration of conference realignment.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as USC's Lincoln Riley Isn't Sold on Keeping Annual Rivalry Game With Notre Dame.
