USC and Notre Dame pause their historic college football rivalry

LOS ANGELES (KABC) — A major college football tradition took a blow Monday with news that the longtime rivalry between USC and Notre Dame is on hold.

The Fighting Irish won’t have the Trojans on the schedule for the next two seasons – and likely longer.

“USC and Notre Dame recognize how special our rivalry is to our fans, our teams and college football and our institutions will continue working to bring back the Battle for the Jeweled Shillelagh,” Notre Dame and USC officials said in a joint statement. “The rivalry between our two schools is one of the best in all of sport and we look forward to meeting in the future.”

Many are blaming college football’s playoff for the move.

USC versus Notre Dame is a rivalry that first started 99 years ago. The Irish lead the series between the two traditional powers 53-38-5.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.