Lincoln Riley makes it clear that the Notre Dame series will be played on USC's terms

It was about time for Lincoln Riley to push back. The USC coach has been the target of unfair criticism from former players and frustrated Domer fans despite being totally in the right. During the first public media availability for the Alamo Bowl, Riley finally struck back.

And he said what we knew all along — USC was willing to play Notre Dame and continue the series as long as the scheduled date of the game changed to earlier in the season. Notre Dame, of course, said all the right things until the rubber met the road and then the Irish quickly pivoted to BYU. 

“Obviously, them not having a conference affiliation gives them an ability to be pretty flexible with their scheduling,” Riley said. "We took Notre Dame at their word that they would play us any time, anywhere. That proposal was rejected. Not only was it rejected. Five minutes after we got the call, it was announced that they had scheduled another opponent."

If USC deserves fault for anything, it's taking Notre Dame at its word when it's clear that Irish AD Pete Bevacqua already had a plan in place. Lesson learned and now, instead of negotiating with Notre Dame on good terms, USC can now tell the Irish that either it's the Trojan way or the highway.

USC vs Notre Dame in September will be great

If it happens again, the USC-Notre Dame series will be played in September in beautiful weather in either Los Angeles or South Bend, Indiana. And if the teams decide to make the series a neutral-site game, it will still be played in September at Allegiant Stadium, SoFi Stadium, maybe the Chicago Bears' new stadium. 

Whatever happens, the future of the game will be played in the first three weeks of the season, and it should still be spectacular and one of the most highly-anticipated games to start the season. USC will use the game as a springboard until the Big Ten season and Notre Dame can continue to schedule its games while knowing that a big game at the top of the schedule is on the books each year. 

College football fans deserve the continuation of this series, and USC has laid out the terms for it to happen. Notre Dame...the ball is in your court.