Is Something Brewing Between Notre Dame and Michigan?

Notre Dame's future with USC remains very much up in the air, something we've all discussed at length since the summer of 2024. What ends up happening between the programs remains to be seen.

While USC head coach Lincoln Riley makes any excuse under the sun to ditch the game, one Notre Dame rival isn't backing down from the idea of meeting up with the Irish again. Even if the rivalry hasn't been played since 2019.

Marcus Freeman and Sherrone Moore Both "In" for Notre Dame vs. Michigan

Marcus Freeman was recently a guest on Bussin' With the Boys, where former Michigan star lineman Taylor Lewan is a host. Lewan asked Freeman about Notre Dame potentially playing Michigan again (they're set for a home-and-home in 2033 and 2034), and Freeman was more than on board.

"I remember growing up watching Michigan play Notre Dame," Freeman said. "That is such a great rivalry. You talk about two iconic programs. I would love to see that happen in the future, and I don't know if there's discussions. I don't know if it's on our future schedule, but now that you say that Taylor (Lewan), I think it is on our schedule in like 2030 or something like that. ... We have to get that back going."

Whenever the Notre Dame head coach is asked about a rivalry game and responds like that, you know the other party will soon be asked as well. That's what happened Monday when Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore met the media. Moore was asked about the two historic programs possibly restarting the on-field rivalry, and he didn't back down.

"Yeah, absolutely," Moore said of restarting the rivalry game. "Pretty close with Marcus (Freeman). Yeah, that'd be great to see. And I know we're aligned to play, I think it's not until, what? 2032 or something. Maybe we can get that a little earlier. But we'll see.

"We're just really worried about the game we're about to play. But, yeah, 100%, that's a traditional rivalry that is a staple of college football for sure."

Nick Shepkowski's Quick Takeaway:

How refreshing is that to hear? Sure, Ann Arbor is a lot closer to South Bend but there is no built-in excuse coming from Moore. Instead it's met with eneregy and passion, the way a rivalry should be. Not "Oh, it might make Michigan's path to the College Football Playoff more difficult" or anything of the sort.

Michigan has at times scheduled cupcake city outside of Big Ten play but appear to have gotten out of that cycle. Last year it hosted Texas, while this year and next it has a home-and-home with Oklahoma on the schedule. 2027 sees the Wolverines make the return trip to Texas, but as of now there isn't yet a Power Four opponent for Michigan yet in 2028.

Could that be Notre Dame?

Assuming Michigan would want to lock into one non-conference Power Four opponent, and having that be Notre Dame every year, is probably unlikely. Could the two work out a deal where they meet four or six times every 10 years or something of the sort?

USC on the schedule or not, you'd be hard-pressed to find a Notre Dame backer that didn't want this rivarly back regularly. Maybe just maybe a simple interview question to Marcus Freeman can get the ball rolling so we don't have to wait seven more years for the heated rivalry to return.