The storied rivalry between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and USC Trojans will come to an abrupt and sad ending next season as the two schools could not find an agreement to continue the series. And according to Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt, others may soon follow when it comes to playing the Irish.
Klatt is no stranger to offering some bold takes on the current chaotic state of college football, and college athletics as a whole – even if that means ruffling feathers a little too ferociously. But after Notre Dame got kicked out of the College Football Playoff at the 11th hour and threw an almighty temper tantrum, it has everyone thinking twice about their place in the sport and the best steps forward for schools who want to ensure their spot in the top twelve.
One of the great debates is non-conference scheduling. Is it even worth it to play high-profile games out of conference if wins and losses are going to matter most of all and teams in the power four leagues are expanding their schedules? USC decided it was not.
In that environment, Joel Klatt believes that it doesn’t make sense for anyone to add an independent Notre Dame to their schedule, as he said on the Tuesday edition of The Herd with Colin Cowherd.
Joel Klatt: “It does not behoove … anybody to schedule Notre Dame” pic.twitter.com/ra20TU4J8S
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) December 30, 2025
“It does not behoove anybody, I can’t believe I’m saying this, to schedule Notre Dame,” Klatt exclaimed. “Because they have such an advantage over these teams that are playing in the Big Ten and the SEC’s cases, much more difficult schedules. And now there’s this bar, like a minimum bar, where all Notre Dame has to do is be in the Top 12 with their schedule? That’s crazy. Meanwhile, we have seen, we have seen that in the selection based model in the invitational that we have in college football it really comes down to just number of wins and losses.”
Joel Klatt is right. Why would a school like Michigan or USC or anyone else take on an extra game with Notre Dame if they don’t have to? Why help Notre Dame add a quality opponent to their schedule when they have an inherent advantage that no other team in the sport does?
If schools around college football come to the same conclusion, it could leave Notre Dame in a bit of a crisis where they may have to do something they have long resisted – join a conference. And if Joel Klatt had his way, that’s exactly what the Fighting Irish would do.
“There’s a huge side of me that just says, ‘No, I just want to see the game. I want to maintain this game.’ I’m sure there’s a piece of you that feels like that. But it doesn’t make any sense. It doesn’t make any sense for USC and because of that they’ve got to look out for themselves. I think Notre Dame should join a conference and I get a lot of heat for always saying that, but it’s time. It’s time. I think that them joining a conference would be better for college football.”
File this as one of a gazillion things that adds to the overall crisis facing college athletics. It may not be the biggest dam that will burst, but it feels like we are reaching the point where sooner or later something is going to have to give with Notre Dame’s place in the greater college football universe.
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