A USC legend is blaming the Trojans for the end of their longstanding rivalry series with Notre Dame.
Keyshawn Johnson, a two-time All-American with the Trojans, shared a video on social media Monday in which he was critical of USC for dropping its historic rivalry game with Notre Dame.
“I just heard that we’re not playing Notre Dame. The series is getting ready to end in the next year or so,” Johnson said in a social media video. “I don’t know what the F is going on with our athletic department. We’ve got people in there that are not Trojans, that don’t know anything about being a Trojan, running our athletic department. We’ve got a head coach that knows nothing about being a Trojan. Why don’t we just not play football? How about that?
“If I can remember correctly, I had Lincoln Riley talking about, ‘well, I don’t know if I want to play them in the future.’ You ain’t gonna be here in the future! Especially if you keep missing the playoffs! … We running from teams now? We running from Notre Dame? Why don’t we run from Oregon and Michigan and Ohio State and Wisconsin? Why don’t we just not be in the conference?”
Johnson concluded by essentially arguing that the Trojans were abandoning the rivalry because they are scared of Notre Dame.
“Why would we cancel our biggest rivalry? Because we can’t beat them? It makes zero sense,” Johnson concluded. “It’s really hard to support this program when we keep on doing this type of stuff.”
This is ridiculous! Just say we scared. I’ll accept that at least it’s the truth. 🤦🏾♂️ #USC #Trojans #NotreDame pic.twitter.com/B11S2sqcEX
— Keyshawn Johnson (@keyshawn) December 22, 2025
Johnson’s message came on the same day reports indicated USC and Notre Dame would not renew their rivalry for at least the next several years. The Trojans were said to have had concerns about what a late-season defeat might do to their hypothetical chances of making future College Football Playoff fields.
Johnson is speaking for a lot of Trojans fans here. Riley has failed to bring the high-end results that the school had hoped for, opening himself up for criticism over his perceived underachievement. Moves like this only make longtime fans feel even more distant from the USC program.
A former No. 1 overall pick, Johnson is still clearly passionate about USC. He just wishes the school would make it easier to back them up.
