There is certainly plenty of momentum with another expansion of the College Football Playoff, and that could mean a much different schedule for Notre Dame in the future.
While it hasn’t be agreed upon, Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports reports that if there is expansion to 24-teams, the Irish are “expected to increase its frequency of playing SEC and Big Ten schools.” The good news is that Notre Dame has already been doing this, as it has scheduled games against Auburn, Texas, Alabama, Florida, Michigan and USC.
The Irish finish a series with Miami this season, and recently concluded others with Texas A&M, and Ohio State. There will be more games against the likes of Wisconsin, Purdue, and Arkansas but there could be additions of teams like Ole Miss, LSU, Oregon and Iowa.
College football seemingly makes major changes every few years, and after the way Notre Dame has navigated the recent ones, there’s no doubt in my mind they’d be able to do the same with more top-end teams on the schedule.
More on scheduling: Notre Dame is expected to increase its frequency of playing SEC and Big Ten schools as part of the 24-team expansion.
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) October 15, 2026
Irish AD Pete Bevacqua, a former TV executive, was a central figure in negotiations with ESPN over the last several weeks.
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This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: Notre Dame close to scheduling more Big Ten & SEC teams per CFP rules