Notre Dame’s Rivalries Could Be Saved by SEC Schedule Change

Notre Dame has done an admirable job staying independent in the ever-changing world of college football, and has done so despite losing one of its biggest rivals from the schedule. That was the cost of Notre Dame signing its "friends with benefits" deal with the ACC, as the annual series with Michigan was erased.

Now, Notre Dame fears losing USC from the schedule annually as the Trojans have been more than vocal about their concerns of playing the out of conference contest each year.

Could news from the SEC on Thursday evening change Notre Dame's standing with these two traditional rivals, though?

SEC Announces 9-Game Conference Schedule

On Thursday, the SEC announced that starting in 2026, the conference will play a nine-game regular season conference schedule. This is up from the eight it has traditionally played and matches it with what the Big Ten and Big 12 are already doing.

Additionally, and the most key part of this, is that the conference will require each member school to play at least one game against another Group of Four program, or Notre Dame, each year. It should be noted that some SEC programs are already forced into such games, such as Georgia playing Georgia Tech and Florida playing Florida State, so this makes things more consistent across the board.

This is about as good of news as Notre Dame could ask for on multiple different levels.

SEC Schedule Ruling Makes Future Notre Dame Games Appear Safe

Notre Dame has future home-and-home series scheduled with the likes of Alabama, Florida, and Texas from the SEC, but there was concern whether or not these games would be played. With the way college football was trending, several teams were opting to play the easiest non-conference schedules possible, instead of risking losing an out-of-league game.

Florida remains a possibility to see a backout based on it already having Florida State on a future schedule, but the chances it also keeps Notre Dame would appear strong.

Could Possible Rivalries with Michigan and USC be Renewed?

The SEC has not set the standard by requiring its member schools play at least one game against a Power Four program during the regular season. Will the Big Ten follow suit and require the same?

If it does, USC wouldn't have an excuse to go running from the Notre Dame series, as it has began to lay the groundwork for over the past year. If it had to play a non-conference game against a Power Four program, why not just stick with Notre Dame?

That is, unless the Trojans are actually that fearful of what Marcus Freeman is building.

As for Michigan, the same logic applies. To its credit, Michigan has had recent home-and-home schedulings with Texas and Oklahoma, after years of playing as little competition away from the Big Ten as possible. Maybe Notre Dame wouldn't be added annually again, but perhaps a home-and-home wouldn't have to wait a dozen years between games again, either.