How to Watch USC vs. Notre Dame: Top 20 Rivalry Exclusively on NBC & Peacock
Two college football titans renew their historic rivalry in prime time on NBC and Peacock.
It’s one of college football’s oldest and most tradition-bound rivalries, and this season, the stakes on both sides are sky-high. Like clockwork, the historic football rivalry between the University of Southern California (USC) and Notre Dame almost always marks a high point on the annual pigskin calendar — and with each team eyeing a potential 2025 College Football Playoff berth, all eyes will be on the Trojans and the Fighting Irish this Saturday.
Whenever two storied programs like USC and Notre Dame meet, the resulting clash usually signifies one of the biggest college football games of the year. That’ll definitely be the case heading into this weekend’s primetime contest on NBC and Peacock — where the winner will bolster their playoff résumé, while the loser could face playoff elimination.
How can you catch the USC-Notre Dame game? Keep on scrolling for details!
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How to watch the USC Trojans vs. Notre Dame Fighting Irish college football game?
The USC Trojans (5-1) hit the road to face the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (4-2) in a televised prime time college football tussle on Saturday, October 18. NBC Sports will broadcast the game live as this week’s primetime NBC matchup.
Both NBC and Peacock will carry the game live from South Bend on Saturday, with kickoff time set for 7:30 p.m. ET.
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What to know about the USC vs. Notre Dame college football game
College football superlatives are all over the century-old rivalry between USC and Notre Dame. Like Army vs. Navy, Alabama vs. Auburn, or Ohio State vs. Michigan, it’s one of a small handful of must-watch college contests with an annual appeal that extends far beyond its teams’ built-in fan bases.
But history and tradition aren’t the only things fueling this year’s face-off between the Trojans and the Irish. Even without all the pageantry, Saturday’s game between USC (No. 20) and Notre Dame (No. 13) comes front-loaded with oodles of present-day football intrigue.
With two early losses already on their ledger, the Fighting Irish are treating each game on their schedule as a must-win in order to stay in the playoff hunt — and this weekend’s matchup against the Trojans is almost certainly their toughest remaining challenge. While the Irish looked legitimately competitive in close back-to-back losses against Miami and Texas A&M (currently two of the nation’s top-5 ranked teams), they can’t exactly lay claim to a signature win so far this season.
That could change in a heartbeat with a victory on Saturday against USC, whose 5-1 record does reflect a huge statement win last weekend against then-No. 15 Michigan. Behind the passing arm of QB Jayden Maiava and upstart RB King Miller, the Trojans’ offense is built to put up points — and believe it or not, the 31 they scored in the win against Michigan is actually their lowest point total of the entire 2025 season.
Though Notre Dame’s defense has kept them in every game and continues to improve, it’s tough to imagine that the Irish can completely shut down USC. It’s a good thing, then, that they’re fielding an offense that looks nearly as potent as USC’s — with the added perk, perhaps, of being a bit better balanced. Whether cutting loose in high-scoring passing clinics against Arkansas and North Carolina State, or else stepping back to let RB Jeremiyah Love roll to 100-plus ground yards against Purdue and Boise State, the Irish this year have been anything but one-dimensional.
Could these two teams get into a scoring shootout on Saturday? Oddsmakers seem to think so. And, for what it's worth, most of this week’s game forecasts are leaning toward a Fighting Irish victory — a prediction that will no doubt have the Trojans on upset alert as they make the long trip to South Bend.
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