The 2025 season has arrived for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the USC Trojans. As college football kicks off, so does a decade of excellence for our podcast. And there’s only one place to begin: the greatest intersectional rivalry in the history of the sport.

The annual matchup between Notre Dame and USC—the very inspiration for this podcast—still hasn’t been renewed. Greg believes Notre Dame should walk away from the negotiating table, while Michael is calling the USC brain trust cowards for dragging their feet. Needless to say, emotions are running high.

We then turn our focus solely to USC. Expectations are modest for Michael. Most of last year’s 7–6 squad returns, but it’s hard to know what to expect. There’s real excitement around transfer running back Waymond Jordan and Makai Lemon, but beyond them, the roster is full of question marks. Greg reminds us that USC hasn’t won a game in the Central Time Zone since before this podcast even began.

Defensively, the Trojans still lack havoc plays—especially sacks. If this unit is going to succeed, Eric Gentry must stay healthy. Fortunately for USC, Missouri State is on the schedule this weekend—an obvious win and a straightforward way to notch their first victory.

We close by shifting to Notre Dame. The big story is the quarterback competition. Greg thinks Marcus Freeman may have chosen the wrong starter in CJ Carr, though he trusts Freeman to make a change if things don’t start strong. The rest of the roster looks loaded with quality starters across the board. Defensive end Bryce Young could be a breakout star in a stacked position group, and Greg is especially excited about freshman safety Tae Johnson.

Somehow, it takes us until the end of the preview to get to the team’s best player: Jeremiyah Love. Spoiler alert—he’s really, really good.

Before we sign off, we look ahead to Notre Dame’s trip to Miami this weekend. Both of us agree the Irish are favorites for a reason. If Miami manages to keep it close, Notre Dame has the toughness to slug it out, and key losses on the Hurricanes’ offense should help the Irish defense keep them in check.

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