24-Team College Football Playoff to Majorly Affect Notre Dame’s Scheduling

Coming as soon as 2027, College Football Playoffs will expand from 12 teams to 24, which draws a split between those teams who will benefit, and those who just straight up hate it with a passion. The CFP is “nearing a deal” and the agreement “is expected to come together in the near future,” ESPN reports.

The major change has been a debate for a while now (we had a Paul Finebaum vs. Tim Tebow debate over it just recently) as schools scramble to see what their schedules will look like under a 24-team playoff format and some are announcing their dramatic shifts in their schedules.

Notre Dame being one of them.

On Friday, The Irish Tribune said in an X post that Notre Dame “is expected to increase its frequency of playing SEC and Big Ten schools” under the new format.

“The Irish currently have four Big Ten and seven SEC matchups scheduled between 2027 and 2030, including home-and-home series with Alabama, Auburn, Texas, USC and Michigan State,” the post said.

“New scheduling agreements could possibly put Notre Dame’s ACC scheduling agreement in jeopardy, which places 5 of the conference’s teams on ND’s schedule and nets the University $17 million annually from its ESPN deal.

“The new agreement would also require teams to play 10 Power Four opponents, a threshold that ND has already met.”

Only 11 schools don’t meet Power Four opponents in 2027.

This change will make for a tougher schedule for the Fighting Irish, but it will do the same for most teams.