Virginia’s 2027 football schedule now has its final piece, and it comes with some serious weight: Notre Dame is headed to Scott Stadium.
The Cavaliers announced Wednesday that they will use their last open non-conference slot to host the Fighting Irish, completing a 2027 slate that looks far tougher than what Virginia is set to see in 2025 and 2026.
Notre Dame remains a football independent even though it is a full ACC member in nearly every other sport. Under its agreement with the league, the Irish play five ACC opponents each season, which keeps their meetings with conference teams limited.
Virginia and Notre Dame have met only five times - in 1989, 2015, 2019, 2021 and 2024 - and the Irish have won every one of those games. The 2027 matchup will be Notre Dame’s first trip to Scott Stadium since 2021.
The Irish arrive with plenty of momentum this season. They are ranked No. 3 nationally, already own a marquee win over Wisconsin, and have handled Rice and Purdue by wide margins, along with a three-possession win over Michigan State.
Their remaining schedule is light outside of games against No. 4 Miami, No.
10 BYU and No. 21 SMU.
If Notre Dame wins two of those three, it will almost certainly be in the College Football Playoff.
For Virginia, the challenge is obvious, but so is the opportunity. Hosting Notre Dame gives the Cavaliers a chance to measure themselves against a national power, and it also fits into a 2027 schedule that could give them a path to a strong CFP resume if they can handle enough of the heavy lifting.
Virginia’s home slate in 2027 includes Arkansas State on Aug. 28, Louisville, Notre Dame, Pitt, SMU, Virginia Tech and William & Mary, with the William & Mary game confirmed for Oct.
- The road schedule features Boston College, Georgia Tech, Miami, North Carolina and Stanford.
On paper, that is a major step up from Virginia’s 2025 and 2026 schedules. The Cavaliers could face six or even seven ranked teams in 2027, while they are scheduled to see only one ranked opponent this year. Boston College, Stanford, William & Mary and Arkansas State offer some relief, but the rest of the slate looks capable of turning into a week-to-week grind.
The one clear advantage for Virginia: most of the biggest games come in Charlottesville. The only heavyweight trip on the list is Miami.
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The Cavaliers have taken the last two games in the series, even though Florida State still owns the edge overall, and that backdrop adds a little extra tension to a trip that will ask Virginia to prove itself away from home for the first time this year. Both sides lean on experienced quarterbacks and running backs, which should keep this from being a simple test of who can settle in faster, and Virginias recent success in the matchup only makes the road challenge more intriguing. [Read more 🡒]
Virginias Deepest Lineup Battle Is Starting To Take Shape
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The bigger question now is how much room there will be behind that group, because this looks like a rotation built to go deeper than last seasons. Odom is still weighing different combinations, with multiple players fighting for minutes and the backcourt mix still unsettled enough to keep the competition alive as the preseason continues. [Read more 🡒]