Despite potential schedule changes, the 2026 slate still includes notable games against Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Miami.<\/p>\n
It might not just be the USC Trojans that are backing out to play<\/a> Notre Dame next fall, as it looks like another team followed their suit and quietly took the Irish off its schedule.<\/p>\n Florida State<\/a> was initially supposed to play Notre Dame in the 2026 season, but according to a report by On3\u2019s Eric Hansen<\/a>, \u201cthe game has been off the books for some time.\u201d It\u2019s another rivalry game that the Irish have seen fall by the wayside, but there is good news as well on the scheduling front.<\/p>\n The first of what could be many SEC matchups has been announced, as the Irish will start a home-and-home against Auburn<\/a> beginning in the 2027 season. There has been chatter that moving up the scheduled renewal of the Michigan rivalry<\/a> could be in the works as well.<\/p>\n As of this moment, when you take off USC and Florida State<\/a> from the Irish\u2019s slate, it\u2019s not looking as formidable with the loss of those two teams. FBSchedule.com<\/a> still has the Trojans as a 2026 opponent, but it doesn\u2019t look like there\u2019s much hope that it will get played. Going to North Carolina<\/a> looked like it would be a fun game, but after Bill Belichick has floundered in Chapel Hill, it\u2019s hard to say that he\u2019ll even be around next fall. There is a \u201crevenge\u201d game as Miami comes to South Bend, and a date against SMU could be interesting as well.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t forget that Steve Angeli could be playing for Syracuse after he recovers from his injury, and the opener against Wisconsin<\/a> in Lambeau Field is still on the schedule. Even without USC and Florida State, Notre Dame should have enough resume points to have a convincing argument to be a College Football Playoff team once again in 2026.<\/p>\n Need a news break? Check out the all new PLAY hub with puzzles, games and more!<\/a><\/p>\n Contact\/Follow us\u00a0@IrishWireND<\/a>\u00a0on X (Formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook<\/a>\u00a0to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.<\/p>\n Follow Mike on X:@MikeFChen<\/a><\/p>\n