Texas appears set to keep one of its most attractive nonconference matchups on the books.
Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian said Thursday that Texas will move ahead with its home-and-home series against Notre Dame in 2028 and 2029, pointing to the likelihood of a 24-team College Football Playoff starting in 2027.
The game in South Bend, Ind., is scheduled for Sept. 9, 2028, with the return trip to Austin set for Sept. 22, 2029.
The series had been in doubt after the 2025 regular season, when a 9-3 Texas team wound up on the outside of the CFP picture even after posting three wins over Top 10 opponents: then-No. 6 Oklahoma, then-No.
9 Vanderbilt and then-No. 3 Texas A&M.
Those wins weren’t enough to overcome the rest of the résumé. Texas also lost SEC games at unranked Florida and at then-No.
5 Georgia, while a 14-7 defeat at then-No. 3 Ohio State became another major talking point.
Sarkisian was openly frustrated about that kind of scheduling calculus last December on SiriusXM's Full Ride, saying, "Why do we even play that game [at Ohio State]?" Sarkisian said on SiriusXM's Full Ride last December.
"Because if we're a 10-2 team right now that played four top-10 ranked opponents with three top-10 wins, we're not even having a discussion right now. So, my point is: Why the hell am I going to play that game [against Ohio State] next year?
For what? What good does it do?"
Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte gave a similarly cautious answer at the SEC's Spring Meetings when asked about Notre Dame, saying, "They're tentatively on the schedule right now."
By SEC Media Days in July, Sarkisian still wasn’t ready to give a definitive answer. Asked whether Texas would keep or cancel the Notre Dame series, he said, "I don't know yet about Notre Dame.
We'll see, because I think the [CFP] committee's got to show us what happens now and what's the value that they're placing on strength of schedule. And are we ever going to let a nine-and-three team in as an at-large?"
Thursday brought a much more upbeat tone. Sarkisian said the expected expansion changes the equation and helps preserve the kind of intersectional games that fans enjoy.
"What I like most about it, without having really dug into it, honestly, is that we get to keep those non-conference games that I think we all really like - I know we do internally. I know our fans do. I know it's good for college football, and so the idea that we're playing Michigan next year, and we've got Notre Dame the next two years after that, I'm excited that we get to keep those things."
A Texas source close to the situation confirmed to Horns247 that the plan is to keep the Notre Dame series on the Longhorns' schedules for 2028 and 2029.
In Other News...
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The bigger wrinkle is where BYU fits into the picture. The Cougars checked in at No. 8 after stacking wins over ranked opponents, including Notre Dame, and that result adds another layer to the resume debate now hovering around the Irish. It is the kind of ranking shuffle that forces voters and fans alike to weigh head-to-head results, strength of schedule and what they believe the committee should value most when the season reaches its most crowded stretch. [Read more 🡒]
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Closer to home, the off week did not erase the frustration from the previous game, where Mike Denbrocks offensive plan drew fresh criticism. There was also a reminder elsewhere in the sport of how difficult first starts can be, with Tommy Carr enduring a rough debut as Michigans quarterback, a parallel that only underscores how much execution and preparation matter when the margins get tight. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame Just Got A Huge Boost In The Playoff Race
Week 8 shook up the AP Top 25 in a way that could matter a lot for Notre Dames playoff path. With nearly a third of the top 10 taking losses, the rankings got a fresh reset, and the ripple effects reached well beyond the teams that actually played on Saturday. The fallout included the loss of two previously unbeaten Big 12 teams, plus movement near the top as Miami picked up a bigger share of first-place votes even after No. 2 BYU went down.
For Notre Dame, the bigger picture is that the playoff race has become a little more open, and a little more chaotic, than it looked a week ago. Texas and Utah climbed in the rankings, while teams such as Iowa and USC remained in the votes without cracking the top 25, a reminder of how quickly the committee conversation can shift when losses pile up. The Irish are still watching the same crowded field, but this was the kind of weekend that can change who stays in front of them and who slips back into the pack. [Read more 🡒]