Big Changes Ahead: Notre Dame’s Future Football Schedules Seemingly Set to Shift

More games with traditional ACC powers appear coming for Notre Dame

Dec 19, 2020; Charlotte, NC, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Clemson Tigers at the line of scrimmage in the first quarter at Bank of America Stadium. / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

There has been a lot going on in recent weeks with Notre Dame football so it could have been easy to miss but just before the Fighting Irish made the trip to the National Championship game, athletic director Pete Bevacqua spoke about a possible new annually rivalry game.

Bevacqua praised the consistency of Clemson's program back at Media Day ahead of the National Championship and mentioned what the benefits of an annual game with the Tigers would bring.

Fast forward not quite two weeks and it sure seems like Bevacqua knew changes to Notre Dame's deal with the ACC may be coming.

Notre Dame's Possible Changes to ACC Deal

Notre Dame Fighting Irish place kicker Jonathan Doerer (39) kicks the winning field goal. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish defeat the Florida State Seminoles 41-38 at Doak Campbell Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 5, 2021 / Alicia Devine/Tallahassee Democrat via Imagn Content Services, LLC

As most of you probably are aware, Notre Dame has had a deal with the ACC since 2014 where the Irish play five opponents from the conference each season. It allows Notre Dame to have a strong enough foundation to stay independent, and the ACC to benefit by getting Notre Dame on schedules of teams it normally wouldn't be on.

Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports has a report this morning about the ACC finalizing a deal with ESPN to stay with the network through 2036. In that report Dellenger reveals some potential changes to Notre Dame's deal with the conference:

ACC presidents met Wednesday for a briefing and are expected to accept, if they have not already done so, the network’s extension, though there is little to no other option. Within the ACC’s deal with ESPN, the network — not the league — is afforded the option to extend the package by its own discretion.

As part of a scheduling arrangement under discussion, the league’s biggest brands — Florida State, Miami and Clemson — are expected to play more football games regularly with Notre Dame. The Irish are expected to play, at the very least, two of the three each season in a rotation.

Dellenger's piece also gets into the ACC agreement and its changes that look to keep the conference together and not disrupt that all-important Grant of Rights deals between schools.

Nick Shepkowski's Quick Take:

Dec 7, 2024; Charlotte, NC, USA; ACC commissioner James Phillips presents Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney with the trophy after the Tigers won the 2024 ACC Championship game against the Southern Methodist Mustangs at Bank of America Stadium. / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

The deal is great by ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips if it quiets the noise from Clemson and Florida State about possibly leaving the conference, but comparing those three programs in football is hardly an even match.

The last 15 years has seen Clemson rise to a college football superpower. Although Dabo Swinney's squad has taken a slight step back in that regard, it was still a College Football Playoff team this past season after going 10-3 overall and winning the ACC championship.

Oct 26, 2024; Miami Gardens, Florida, USA; Florida State Seminoles head coach Mike Norvell reacts from the sideline against the Miami Hurricanes during the fourth quarter at Hard Rock Stadium. / Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

It's Florida State and Miami that are a bit more of a question. It's not to say Florida State hasn't had success, it won it all in 2013 and should have been a playoff team in 2023 following a perfect regular season, but it has had extreme lapses as well. The last four seasons Notre Dame has played Florida State the Seminoles have combined to go 15-30 in those seasons (2018, 2020, 2021, and 2024).

Meanwhile, Miami still has that "U" on the side of its helmet but has failed to be truly elite in years. The Hurricanes joined the ACC back in 2004 and is still yet to win an ACC championship. Furthermore, the Hurricanes have played in just one ACC Championship game in that time. For reference, Notre Dame has played in as many ACC Championship games in that time, and Notre Dame has only played in a conference for one season since it first played football back in 1887.

Essentially, it's great for Notre Dame getting name brands on the schedule regularly, but is anything but a guarantee that those games will actually end up being as big as they are hyped before a year.

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