Congratulations To Notre Dame On Reaching The 2026-2027 College Football Playoff
Irish face eight teams that finished with at least eight losses last season, including Wisconsin, Rice, and Michigan State.
We just finished the 2025-2026 edition of the College Football Playoff earlier this week. And already, we have our first participant for the 2026-2027 playoff locked in, 11 months early.
Congratulations to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish on their selection to the 2026-2027 playoff. This upcoming appearance will mark the Irish's second appearance in the last three seasons, and their fifth appearance in the playoff era. How is this possible, you might wonder, since the 2026 regular season hasn't started yet?
Well, several announcements on Friday confirmed the inevitable, as the Irish once again will benefit from special treatment and their decision to remain outside a traditional conference. News broke earlier Friday morning that the 12-team playoff will remain for the 2026-2027 edition, with only a handful of changes moving forward. One of which is, of course, that the Irish will have a guaranteed at-large berth if they finish the year in the top-12.
What was the other announcement that guaranteed the Irish a playoff berth? Their schedule.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman. (Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images)
Notre Dame 2026-2027 Schedule Is Incredible
One of the stories of the offseason thus far was the dissolution of the traditional rivalry game between Notre Dame and the USC Trojans. After Marcus Freeman said they'd play the game anytime, anywhere, the Irish declined to move it to Week Zero. Freeman then said that it wasn't in their best interest to play the game early in the year, which is odd considering early in the year would seemingly correspond to "anytime."
Well, when you see their schedule for the upcoming season, you see why playing a road game in LA wasn't in their best interest.
Here's how it lines up:
Sunday, Sep. 6: vs Wisconsin Badgers – Lambeau Field, Green Bay, WI
Saturday, Sep. 12: Rice Owls – Notre Dame Stadium
Saturday, Sep. 19: Michigan State Spartans – Notre Dame Stadium
Saturday, Sep. 26: at Purdue Boilermakers – Ross-Ade Stadium, West Lafayette, IN
Saturday, Oct. 3: at North Carolina Tar Heels – Kenan Memorial Stadium, Chapel Hill, NC
Saturday, Oct. 10: Stanford Cardinal - Notre Dame Stadium
Saturday, Oct. 17 at BYU Cougars - LaVell Edwards Stadium, Provo, UT
Saturday, Oct. 31: vs Navy Midshipmen – Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, MA
Saturday, Nov. 7: Miami (FL) Hurricanes – Notre Dame Stadium
Saturday, Nov. 14: Boston College Eagles - Notre Dame Stadium
Saturday, Nov. 21: SMU Mustangs – Notre Dame Stadium
Saturday, Nov. 28: at Syracuse Orange - JMA Wireless Dome, Syracuse, NY
That is…not a difficult schedule. In the slightest. And it looks even easier when you break it down further.
Wisconsin finished 4-8 last season. Rice was 5-8. Michigan State was 4-8. Purdue was 2-10. North Carolina was 4-8. Navy had a good season, and obviously, Miami was a top-2 team, but Boston College was 2-10, Syracuse was 3-9, and Stanford was 4-8. That's eight teams who finished with at least eight losses.
They play just four true road games, at Purdue, UNC, BYU, and Syracuse. Two games are at neutral sites, with six home games. That's an extremely favorable ratio. And just one of their two "tough" games, against Miami and BYU, are on the road.
The Irish will be favored in every single game they play this coming season. They have just four road games. A worst case scenario seems like one loss, and a 12-0 record wouldn't be surprising. An undefeated Notre Dame would be in the top-5, at worst, and a one-loss Notre Dame would certainly be in the top-10. What does a top-10 ranking do for the Irish? Gets them in the playoff.
And thus, congratulations must go out to Notre Dame for this incredible setup. No conference championship game to worry about. Just four true road games. Eight teams with eight losses or more. Plus the guaranteed playoff berth for finishing in the top-12. The Irish absolutely deserved a spot in this year's playoff, and now they've all but locked in a spot in next year's. The power of scheduling, special arrangements, and independence.