Now that Notre Dame just announced a new scheduling extension with the Stanford Cardinal in 2027 and 2028, Notre Dame has one final game open for its 2028 schedule.
| DATE | OPPONENT AND LOCATION |
|---|---|
| Saturday Sep. 9 |
Texas Longhorns Notre Dame Stadium, Notre Dame, IN |
| Saturday Sep. 16 |
Arkansas Razorbacks Notre Dame Stadium, Notre Dame, IN |
| Saturday Sep. 23 |
at Purdue Boilermakers Ross-Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, IN |
| Saturday Oct. 7 |
Clemson Tigers Notre Dame Stadium, Notre Dame, IN |
| Saturday Oct. 14 |
Stanford Cardinal Notre Dame Stadium, Notre Dame, IN |
| Saturday Oct. 28 |
at Auburn Tigers Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn, AL |
| Saturday Nov. 4 |
at Virginia Tech Hokies Lane Stadium, Blacksburg, VA |
| Saturday Nov. 18 |
at Navy Midshipmen Site, City TBD |
| Date TBA | Boston College Eagles Notre Dame Stadium, Notre Dame, IN |
| Date TBA | Miami (FL) Hurricanes Notre Dame Stadium, Notre Dame, IN |
| Date TBA | at Pitt Panthers Acrisure Stadium, Pittsburgh, PA |
So… who should the Irish schedule?
As it stands, there are already ten Power 4 teams own this schedule.
3 SEC schools.
1 Big 10 school.
6 ACC schools.
Also, as it stands, the Irish have 6 home games, 4 away games, and a neutral site game.
Notre Dame generally doesn’t like to schedule 7 home games, but they will if they have to for the schedule to make sense. None of these games are scheduled to be a Shamrock Series game, and honestly, none of the current teams should be a Shamrock Series game.
So, what are they going to do?
- This feels like an easy solution… schedule a G6 school. There are still a handful of G6 schools that don’t have a full schedule, and this puts the P4 to G6 ratio at a respectable 10-2 spot like Notre Dame has in 2026.
- They could push the envelope with another P4 program. Depending on the College Football Playoff format, this may be easier said than done. The Iowa Hawkeyes, for example, has an open date in 2028 — but how much sense would a ND vs Iowa matchup make for either school? I’d love to see it, but something on that level seems like a bigger ask than what’s needed.
- FCS? Hell no. Don’t do it.
So the easiest way and the one that makes most sense is going the G6 route. Akron and Oregon State, for example, have openings. I know it’s kind of boring, but there’s already enough on the 2028 schedule to make it an interesting season.
Still… adding an 11th P4 game certainly makes a statement, and if scheduled correctly, it could be a Shamrock Series matchup that some fans love.
What do you think? Sound off in the comments below.