Notre Dame’s 2027 schedule took a turn this week, and the replacement for Georgia Tech is a much stiffer one.
Virginia will be the 12th opponent on the Fighting Irish’s pending 2027 slate, the Cavaliers announced Wednesday. The game will be played at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Va., on a date that has not yet been set.
That matchup became necessary after Georgia Tech pulled out of its planned 2027 trip to South Bend earlier this month. The Yellow Jackets said they would no longer travel to Notre Dame that season because of ACC scheduling changes.
The conference adjustments are a big part of the backdrop here. Starting in 2027, 16 of the ACC’s 17 teams will play a nine-game league schedule, and all 17 schools will be required to face 10 Power 4 opponents.
Notre Dame had already lined up 12 games for 2027 before Georgia Tech backed away. The Irish still have a few open items to settle on that schedule, including when they’ll host BYU and the dates for road games at Virginia and Duke. As things stand, Notre Dame is set for six home games, five road games and one neutral-site game in Charlotte, N.C., against Wake Forest.
The Irish and Cavaliers don’t meet all that often, despite Notre Dame’s long-running scheduling relationship with the ACC. They have played five times, and Notre Dame has won every one.
The series began with the 1989 Kickoff Classic in East Rutherford, N.J., and continued with trips to Charlottesville in 2015 and 2021, plus home games in 2019 and 2024. Notre Dame won the most recent meeting, 35-14.
On paper, this is a tougher swap for Notre Dame than the Georgia Tech game it lost. Virginia finished 11-3 and led the ACC standings in the regular season last year.
This season, the Cavaliers are 3-1 and 1-0 in conference play. Georgia Tech, meanwhile, has appeared to slip after losing dual-threat quarterback Haynes King.
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