Part of the reason Notre Dame was left out of the College Football Playoff this season was due to its lack of having a robust schedule.
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The Fighting Irish started the season losing to ranked opponents Miami and Texas A&M. ND only played two more ranked teams, beating then-No. 20 USC and then-No. 22 Pittsburgh.
The Irish’s 34-24 win at home over USC was the program’s best victory of the season. But even that win wasn’t enough to get ND in the CFP after losing to the Aggies and Hurricanes.
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Because they don’t play in a conference, it’s important for the Irish to schedule elite teams in Power 4 programs to boost its strength of schedule.
Per Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports, ND lost a critical game on its annual calendar. The Irish and USC were unable to reach a deal to extend their series, and they may not play again until 2030.
“Notre Dame and USC have failed to reach a deal to extend their historic series and are working to schedule replacements for 2026, sources tell @YahooSports,” Dellenger wrote. “In fact, the Irish are finalizing a 2-year series with BYU. ND-BYU next October in Provo.
“Negotiations between Notre Dame and USC broke down over scheduling complications and CFP implications during the last 2-3 weeks after the programs were on the cusp of announcing an extension in late November. The two schools are working to restart the series as soon as 2030.”
With USC out, the Irish will play a two-year series with BYU. Dellenger notes the series is a big win for the Big 12, as it will have a top school play a likely ranked ND team to help boost its strength of schedule.
No. 12 BYU had a solid season, finishing 11-2 with its only two losses coming to Texas Tech. While the Cougars made the Big 12 championship, they were blown out 34-7 by the Red Raiders.
BYU is a decent substitution for Notre Dame. However, the Cougars are arguably a downgrade on the schedule from USC, a Big Ten program that’s trending up before 2026.
It’ll be interesting to see if Notre Dame can try to find more challenging Power 4 competition after losing the USC series. However, Big Ten and SEC schools might balk at a chance to play the independent program, as a potential extra loss outside of the conference schedule could hurt their chances of making the CFP.
For more on the NCAA, head to Newsweek Sports.
