This season's USC-Notre Dame battle is the last one on the schools' current contract, and the Trojans are reportedly reluctant to commit to a long-term extension. Sports Illustrated reported that USC is uncertain about the series' impact on its College Football Playoff hopes, considering the demands that come with playing a Big Ten schedule.

Notre Dame is ranked No. 6 in the Athlon Sports projected Top 25 ranking. Steve Lassan from Athlon Sports put the ranking together and here is what he said about Notre Dame: "The

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are considered a top 15 team since the year 2000, according to one football writer.

This has been quite the offseason for Notre Dame and coach Marcus Freeman. The College Football Playoff's decision to alter the seeding and first-round bye process for the 2025 season continues a string of wins for the Fighting Irish that includes an elite signing haul and the news of a 12-year partnership with Clemson for a future series that strengthens their stance as an independent program.

One of the greatest rivalries in college football is back in the news. The USC-Notre Dame series, 95 games old and stocked with legends, is facing an existential crisis.

The first obvious advantage is that if Notre Dame is a top four seed it will only have to win three games to win a national championship. Notre Dame won three games in the 2024-25 College Football Playoff, beating Indiana (27-17), Georgia (23-10) and Penn State (27-24), but those victories simply got the Irish to the national title game.

Notre Dame will play its first-ever college football game at Lambeau Field next year when it takes on Wisconsin in the 2026 Shamrock Series. The Fighting Irish and the Badgers have finally pencilled in a date for the long-awaited final part of their two-game series,

The College Football Playoff is moving to a straight seeding model, giving the top four teams by seed a first-round bye starting next season.

As it stands, this will be the third different playoff system for college football in the span of three years. For the 10 years leading into last season’s inaugural 12-team playoff, the CFP was a four-team affair. The seeding change was first reported by ESPN, which last year signed a six-year, $7.8 billion deal to televise the expanded playoff.

Notre Dame will cross another NFL venue off its list to start 2026 but something from that is missing regarding college football.

USC officials insist the school is not trying to kill its prestigious college football series with Notre Dame and instead is seeking shorter contracts.