Notre Dame’s 2026 playoff outlook already looks strong, but one preseason projection adds a twist that would land with a thud in Los Angeles and a grin in South Bend: USC coming back to Notre Dame for a first-round College Football Playoff game.
That’s the scenario Brett Ciancia laid out in his new Pick Six Previews magazine, and it’s the kind of matchup that would instantly become the most interesting part of Notre Dame’s path. Ciancia has the Irish in the playoff field, ranking them No. 4 in his preseason list, but he does not have them earning a first-round bye. In his view, Notre Dame would still have to play its way through the opening round.
The opponent he picked makes the whole thing even better for Irish fans. Ciancia projects Notre Dame to face USC in South Bend.
If that sounds familiar, it should. USC spent the offseason moving away from the rivalry, replacing Notre Dame on its schedule with San Jose State this coming season. So if Lincoln Riley’s team were to make the playoff and end up back in South Bend anyway, it would be a pretty sharp little dose of irony.
Ciancia’s bracket logic has the Big Ten and SEC each landing four teams, with USC filling that fourth Big Ten spot. That would be a nice accomplishment on paper - right up until the Trojans realized they’d have to travel to a place where they rarely win for a CFP opener.
For Notre Dame, the appeal is obvious. The Irish have repeatedly made it clear they wanted to keep the rivalry alive, only to be turned away by a program trying to make its schedule easier. If this projection turns into reality, the payoff would be as amusing as it is fitting.
And Ciancia’s track record is part of why the idea is worth paying attention to. Pick Six Previews has been rated as the most accurate pre-season prognosticator on the market in recent years.
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