Notre Dame 2026

[23andCounting]

23 hours ago, Bash Riprock said:

Is ND losing Texas from the schedule in upcoming years?  Writer indicates Indiana and Bama are in question as well.

Notre Dame in danger of losing major future opponent

 

It doesn't matter. A one loss Notre Dame team is guaranteed to make the playoff no matter the schedule strength. I don't blame programs like USC and Texas for questioning their sanity by scheduling the Irish in today's college football landscape. Nor would I blame IU and Alabama. The new model for the B1G and the SEC is to schedule cupcakes wherever possible. That's the key ingredient to making the playoff for those two conferences. The committee gives no credit for losses against good teams. 

Notre Dame will be better served if they start pushing more games against ACC and Big 12 programs. Those conferences need Notre Dame on their schedules, whereas the other two do not. 

[Bash Riprock]

18 hours ago, 23andCounting said:

It doesn't matter. A one loss Notre Dame team is guaranteed to make the playoff no matter the schedule strength. I don't blame programs like USC and Texas for questioning their sanity by scheduling the Irish in today's college football landscape. Nor would I blame IU and Alabama. The new model for the B1G and the SEC is to schedule cupcakes wherever possible. That's the key ingredient to making the playoff for those two conferences. The committee gives no credit for losses against good teams. 

Notre Dame will be better served if they start pushing more games against ACC and Big 12 programs. Those conferences need Notre Dame on their schedules, whereas the other two do not. 

Those teams schedule "cupcakes" because of the strength of their conference.  The teams in question of playing ND in the future, all had stronger SOS's than ND this past season.  This is a real concern for ND...and that is SOS in future seasons.  With ACC teams offer stronger SOS's?  Wll ACC (outside of the guaranteed 5 games) and the Big 12 be inclined to play ND? I am not as sure they need ND as much as you think they do....can't see schools like Texas Tech and Arizona State running out to schedule ND.

Ultimately, will this push ND to a conference??

[23andCounting]

1 hour ago, Bash Riprock said:

Those teams schedule "cupcakes" because of the strength of their conference.  

Correct

1 hour ago, Bash Riprock said:

The teams in question of playing ND in the future, all had stronger SOS's than ND this past season.  

Correct

1 hour ago, Bash Riprock said:

This is a real concern for ND...and that is SOS in future seasons. 

Incorrect...........but debatable. 

1 hour ago, Bash Riprock said:

Will ACC (outside of the guaranteed 5 games) and the Big 12 be inclined to play ND? 

I will argue that the ACC and Big 12 do indeed need Notre Dame. They already know that competing with the B1G and SEC is an uphill climb. It's hard for the committee to say "you're not deserving" if you beat a Freeman lead Irish team. I think those two conferences need to go in with a "go big or go home" approach to scheduling. Not to mention the kind of revenue at stake when Notre Dame comes to town. 

 

1 hour ago, Bash Riprock said:

Ultimately, will this push ND to a conference??

Potentially, if your above concerns come to fruition. But I don't think so. Notre Dame is pretty resilient with their independent status. And again, even without Texas, USC, Indiana, or Alabama, a one loss Notre Dame team more than likely makes a 12 team playoff. If the Irish get strong armed as teams like Texas Tech, Arizona State, Clemson (by choice, Miami (by choice), or North Carolina (by choice) opt not to schedule them down the road, then yeah. maybe conference affilliation 5 years down the road is in the cards. 

[Bobref]

1 hour ago, 23andCounting said:

Potentially, if your above concerns come to fruition. But I don't think so. Notre Dame is pretty resilient with their independent status. And again, even without Texas, USC, Indiana, or Alabama, a one loss Notre Dame team more than likely makes a 12 team playoff. If the Irish get strong armed as teams like Texas Tech, Arizona State, Clemson (by choice, Miami (by choice), or North Carolina (by choice) opt not to schedule them down the road, then yeah. maybe conference affilliation 5 years down the road is in the cards. 

If the CFP goes to 24 teams, as the B1G is pushing, that eliminates the pressure to join a conference to increase SOS. It’s been 10 years since the Irish finished a season outside the top 24, and as long as Freeman is there, it’s highly unlikely.

[23andCounting]

1 hour ago, Bobref said:

If the CFP goes to 24 teams, as the B1G is pushing, that eliminates the pressure to join a conference to increase SOS. It’s been 10 years since the Irish finished a season outside the top 24, and as long as Freeman is there, it’s highly unlikely.

They are a lock in a 24 team field with two losses and a weak schedule.

[Bobref]

Notre Dame and USC to renew college football’s greatest intersectional rivalry, starting with the 2030 season opener in the Coliseum. A 4 yr. home & home deal.

Reportedly, ND’s proposed series with IU is not happening.

[Bash Riprock]

1 hour ago, Bobref said:

Notre Dame and USC to renew college football’s greatest intersectional rivalry, starting with the 2030 season opener in the Coliseum. A 4 yr. home & home deal.

Reportedly, ND’s proposed series with IU is not happening.

Just read the same, and link below to an article confirming IU and ND series not happening.

Indiana football series with Notre Dame, scheduled for 2030-31, canceled

 

[Muda69]

https://www.onefootdown.com/notre-dame-fighting-irish-football/83776/indiana-cancels-football-series-against-notre-dame-because-of-course

FTA:

Quote

...

Indiana wants nothing to do with playing any team with a pulse outside of its conference schedule — and the Irish are much more than a team with a pulse.

...

Pretty much this.........................

 

[Bash Riprock]

2 hours ago, Muda69 said:

https://www.onefootdown.com/notre-dame-fighting-irish-football/83776/indiana-cancels-football-series-against-notre-dame-because-of-course

FTA:

Pretty much this.........................

 

Guess it depends on why one believes the series was cancelled......

https://www.wane.com/news/indiana/indiana-notre-dame-cancel-football-series-scheduled-for-2030-31-reports/#:~:text=The series cancellation is due,break the news on Monday.

(WXIN/WTTV) — A home-and-home series between Indiana football and Notre Dame has been canceled, according to multiple reports. The games were scheduled for 2030 and 2031.

The series cancellation is due in part to Notre Dame renewing a four-year rivalry series with USC, causing a scheduling conflict for Week 1 of the 2030 season. The Athletic’s Pete Sampson was the first to break the news on Monday.

Indiana’s home-and-home series was originally slated for the first game of 2030 and was set to take place in South Bend. The series was contracted in 2021 when former head coaches Tom Allen and Brian Kelly worked at IU and Notre Dame, respectively.

The Indiana Daily Student reports that, since taking over as IU’s head coach, Curt Cignetti now prefers a lighter non-conference slate. The Hoosiers now have zero Power Four non-conference games scheduled for the future.

[Muda69]

1 hour ago, Bash Riprock said:

Guess it depends on why one believes the series was cancelled......

https://www.wane.com/news/indiana/indiana-notre-dame-cancel-football-series-scheduled-for-2030-31-reports/#:~:text=The series cancellation is due,break the news on Monday.

(WXIN/WTTV) — A home-and-home series between Indiana football and Notre Dame has been canceled, according to multiple reports. The games were scheduled for 2030 and 2031.

The series cancellation is due in part to Notre Dame renewing a four-year rivalry series with USC, causing a scheduling conflict for Week 1 of the 2030 season. The Athletic’s Pete Sampson was the first to break the news on Monday.

Indiana’s home-and-home series was originally slated for the first game of 2030 and was set to take place in South Bend. The series was contracted in 2021 when former head coaches Tom Allen and Brian Kelly worked at IU and Notre Dame, respectively.

The Indiana Daily Student reports that, since taking over as IU’s head coach, Curt Cignetti now prefers a lighter non-conference slate. The Hoosiers now have zero Power Four non-conference games scheduled for the future.

 

The question I haven't seen answered is what party initiated the cancellation? 

Either way it looks like both maybe get what they want?  ND gets an old foe back on the schedule (and the big TV money such a rivalry brings in), and Cignetti gets to play another cupcake instead of ND.