Notre Dame's Top Football Rivalries—Ranked from Fierce to Legendary

Alright, there was 1993 that cost Notre Dame a national championship, and 2002 when a flawed Notre Dame team was exposed. Those losses hurt, no doubt, but in terms of a rivalry, Boston College doesn't offer anything beyond New England-based Fighting Irish fans a chance to see their team up close once every five years or so.

14. Army

You can't tell the history of Notre Dame without Army. The Army played a massive role in Notre Dame becoming a national brand, with marquee games in New York helping to build the Fighting Irish brand. However, seeing as Notre Dame hasn't lost to Army since 1958, and the fact nobody from Notre Dame goes around hating the military, it's hard to draw up much hate for this old-school rival.

13. Navy

Two things can be true: I can appreciate the Notre Dame-Navy game, but acknowledge it isn't a great rivalry. It's a tradition, something that many can't wait to try and cut out of college football a little more each year, but the same goes for Navy as it does Army. It's just that Navy is on the schedule every year, so it gets bumped up a spot.

12. LSU

It doesn't matter if the two haven't met on the field since the 2018 Citrus Bowl, as long as Brian Kelly is at LSU this will be a cold war between the two fan bases, one always being compared to the other in an unkind way.

11. Stanford

Notre Dame and Stanford have had memorable moments over the years, and the Cardinal played a huge role in Lou Holtz possibly not winning two more championships at Notre Dame. This rivalry feels like one that would be better played a few times a decade, though, not every year. Stanford, being a doormat lately, has watered this down, and that's including its massive upset at Notre Dame Stadium in 2022.

10. Pittsburgh

Notre Dame has only played three teams more than Pittsburgh, against which it owns a 49-21 all-time advantage. Pitt has often been a tough out for highly ranked Notre Dame teams, but the Fighting Irish have outscored the Panthers 103-10 over the last two meetings. If this were still annual, perhaps it would be higher, but the dislike from the Notre Dame side simply isn't there compared to what comes above it.

9. Ohio State

These two have never met annually, but with the current state of affairs, Ohio State has to have a top ten spot. It's where Marcus Freeman went, sure, but it's the Midwest program Notre Dame wants to turn into. Since Lou Holtz's peak ended in Notre Dame (we'll say 1994), Notre Dame is 0-7 against the Buckeyes while Ohio State has been the most consistent program from this part of the country.

8. Clemson

This one is likely to soar in the next decade with Notre Dame and Clemson agreeing to play for more than a decade straight starting in 2027. Even without the annual meeting, Clemson's rise to a powerhouse, combined with Notre Dame's sweetheart deal with the ACC, has put this one on an already solid foundation.

7. Florida State

If you were around for 1993 and understand that Florida State was gifted the national championship as a lifetime achievement award instead of for on-the-field performance. That's why this one remains so high despite the two not playing annually and not having a competitive contest since 2014 (that ended with a garbage call, mind you).

6. Purdue

The proximity of the two programs and the 85 all-time meetings between them make for a solid base of a rivalry. The two are in the middle of a renewed series now, but Purdue not beating Notre Dame since the George W. Bush administration keeps this from the top five.

5. Penn State

The Orange Bowl win by Notre Dame over Penn State was epic and reopened this rivalry to a large degree. Notre Dame is what Penn State wishes it was: independent. The Nittany Lions couldn't pull off a TV deal on their own in the early 1990s, so they had to run to the Big Ten and leave what was an outstanding rivalry behind. The two compete for several recruits on an annual basis, and perhaps last season's clash was the first of a few we'll see in the postseason over the next decade.

4. Michigan State

Notre Dame and Michigan State have a rich history together that is incredibly competitive, with the Irish holding a 36-28-1 all-time edge. Notre Dame-Michigan always got the national press clippings, but Michigan State deserves credit for not running from the rivalry for years like Michigan did when things didn't go its way.

3. Miami

Catholics vs. Convicts. Need I say more? OK, I will.

"Save Jimmy Johnson's *** for me!" - Lou Holtz

The heat and dislike in this rivalry in the 1980s was so strong that the fires still haven't burnt out over 30 years since the two met annually. Notre Dame and Miami have met just four times since the series ended following the 1990 clash, but clear disdain between the two will be alive and well come August 31 on South Beach.

2. Michigan

Michigan taught Notre Dame how to play football in 1887, Notre Dame beat the Wolverines in 1909, and then they refused to play Notre Dame again for over 30 years.

Ever wonder why Notre Dame isn't in a conference? It's because Michigan legend Fielding Yost refused to let Notre Dame into the old Western Conference (now Big Ten) and pushed other member schools not to schedule Notre Dame. The man didn't like Catholics. At all.

That's the backstory on why, even though these two no longer play annually, they continue to bicker back and forth and always will.

Epic battles on the field and off tell the story of what used to be the college football's biggest game on opening weekend annually.

1. Southern Cal (USC)

Opposites attract, and that's how Notre Dame and USC came to be. Life couldn't be more different from South Bend, Indiana, to Los Angeles, and the two programs reflect that. Even in the different ways they go about doing it, the results are there as no rivalry has produced more NFL draft picks, Heisman Trophy winners, or national championships than Notre Dame and USC.

Who in their right mind would ever let such a great thing slip away?