Notre Dame’s future schedule just picked up a familiar heavyweight.
On Wednesday morning, Notre Dame and Nebraska announced a home-and-home series that will kick off in 2032, bringing back a matchup between two of college football’s most recognizable programs after decades apart. The Irish will head to Lincoln, Neb., on October 30, 2032, before hosting the Huskers on October 29, 2033.
It also gives Notre Dame a shot at ending a frustrating run in the series. The two schools have met only 16 times, and Nebraska has won the last three, including a 40-6 Orange Bowl win in 1973, a 27-24 victory in South Bend in 2000, and a 27-10 win in Lincoln the following year.
The agreement arrives at a time when Notre Dame’s ability to line up Power 4 opponents has become a talking point around the sport. As the College Football Playoff era has unfolded, the Irish have had trouble finding those teams willing to commit to games. USC backed out of the rivalry starting this year, though the teams eventually agreed to restart it in a few years.
Notre Dame also has a home-and-home with Texas scheduled for 2028 and 2029, but that series has been surrounded by speculation this year that the Longhorns could back out. SEC schools raised the same concern USC did, arguing that scheduling tough non-conference games can be risky if a loss knocks a team out of CFP contention.
Still, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian struck a different tone after Saturday’s win over Ohio State. He said it was actually better for schools like his to schedule difficult non-conference games because it offered a tougher challenge and a chance to improve.
The Nebraska deal also carries a little edge of its own. USC had pointed to the timing of Notre Dame’s requests as one reason it wanted out of the series, saying the Irish wanted the games in the middle of the Big Ten schedule. The October dates in this new agreement remove that issue for Nebraska.
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Notre Dame Just Added A Future Matchup That Will Split Fans
Notre Dames future schedule picked up another big-name addition with Nebraska officially locking in a home-and-home series for the 2032 and 2033 seasons. The Cornhuskers will host the Irish on Oct. 30, 2032, then head to South Bend on Oct. 29, 2033, giving both programs another marquee non-conference matchup to circle well in advance.
The series, announced by Nebraska athletic director Troy Dannen, fits into the Huskers broader scheduling plans and gives Notre Dame another heavyweight opponent on the horizon. For Irish fans, it is the kind of intersectional series that will draw plenty of interest, even if the long runway means plenty can change before either game is played. [Read more 🡒]
Junior Tuihalamakas LSU Role Is Shifting Faster Than Notre Dame Fans Expected
Junior Tuihalamakas move from Notre Dame to LSU has already turned into a quieter sort of transition than some might have expected, with the former Fighting Irish defender mostly showing up on special teams through the Tigers first two wins of the 2026 season. He has seen only a handful of defensive snaps, but he has at least managed to get on the stat sheet with a tackle in limited action, a small early sign that he is working his way into the mix.
LSUs defensive line is still sorting itself out, with a group that includes multiple transfers and freshmen, so the path for Tuihalamaka is hardly fixed. For now, the role looks more like depth and support than a full-time defensive assignment, but that can change quickly over the course of a season as the Tigers keep reshaping their front. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame Is Starting To Make Its Doubters Look Ridiculous
Two weeks into the season, Notre Dame has already forced a rethink of where it belongs in the national conversation. ESPNs Bill Connelly SP+ has the Irish sitting No. 3 overall, behind only Georgia and Ohio State, with an offense that grades out No. 1 in the country and a defense that checks in at No. 6. In a sport where early opinions can calcify quickly, that kind of start carries real weight, especially when it puts Notre Dame ahead of teams like Texas, Miami and Indiana in the same broad metrics.
For a program that lives under constant scrutiny, these numbers are the sort that make preseason skepticism look a little overdone. The Irish have not just been winning the argument on the field, but doing it in a way that stands up analytically across both sides of the ball. The larger question now is how long that standing can last once the schedule starts asking more demanding questions. [Read more 🡒]