SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Marcus Freeman is back. USC is not. And the College Football Playoff continues on without Notre Dame.

So yeah, this offseason already feels like a grind, and it has barely begun. But that doesn’t stop you from jumping into the Notre Dame Mailbag, which begins by going long on the schedule the program will be playing (and not playing) next season.

Let’s get started.

What is Notre Dame doing to improve the scheduling moving forward? Quite frankly, it sucks for next year. And do you believe that USC is to blame for the end of the series? — Joe F.

Yes, USC is to blame for the series ending, which isn’t to say Notre Dame couldn’t have done a better job in getting a two-year extension hammered out. Notre Dame knew the series was going on a break after the 2027 season, but in November, athletic director Pete Bevacqua was certain a two-year deal was just about done, although USC sources were much more cautious at the time.

Did Notre Dame misread the room? Should it have done more to accept USC’s exit strategy earlier, signing a two-year deal and figuring out how to make it work after the fact? Maybe. Should Notre Dame have said less about the series during the past year? There’s an argument Notre Dame was too public, but considering USC wouldn’t be shamed into extending the series, I’m not sure that made a difference.

Regardless, the entire situation is a loss for college football. The fact a school that just lost the Alamo Bowl to TCU and quarterback Ken Seals — you might remember Seals as Clark Lea’s first starting quarterback at Vanderbilt when the Commodores got blown out by East Tennessee State — had the gall to strip the sport of a century-old rivalry is perverse.

I can appreciate the fact USC believes its Big Ten schedule is too difficult to compete for the College Football Playoff. Next season the Trojans host Ohio State, Oregon and Washington and travel to Indiana and Penn State. So just say that. USC citing Notre Dame’s “anytime, anywhere” line and the memorandum of understanding regarding Notre Dame’s future CFP inclusion as reasons to cancel the series is as weak as calling a receiver option pass in the fourth quarter.

And now Lincoln Riley is talking about a “window opening” at USC after four long years of rebuilding, which included two seasons with Caleb Williams at quarterback. Got it.

Here’s how Lincoln Riley described the state of USC football.

Lincoln Riley says that “a window [at USC] has opened up”.