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D’Onta Foreman #33 of the Texas Longhorns rushes for a 19-yard touchdown during the fourth quarter against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on September 4, 2016 in Austin, Texas.

Earlier this month, The University of Texas football program canceled its future home-and-home series with Arizona State Sun Devils football, which was slated for the 2032 and 2033 seasons, in a shocking move that drew immense attention and criticism. The cancelation of the scheduled back-to-back games by Texas has unfolded against the backdrop of the Longhorns being left out of the expanded College Football Playoff (CFP) despite having a strong schedule, and more extensive changes across the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and FBS.

Now analysts and fans alike are speculating that the Longhorns’ scheduled series with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish could fall to the same fate as the Texas-ASU matchup, and there’s a decent amount of evidence to support the possibility. Here’s what to know about where the Texas Longhorns currently stand in regards to their future against Notre Dame.

Texas AD Says Longhorns Have Scheduled Games They Don’t Intend to Play

Getty D’Onta Foreman #33 of the Texas Longhorns carries the ball during the second half against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on September 4, 2016 in Austin, Texas.

When speaking to why the Texas Longhorns decided to pull out of the scheduled games with Arizona State, Texas Athletic Director Chris Del Conte revealed that the Texas-ASU series was never going to happen even back when the Longhorns and Sun Devils signed the contract to make it happen.

“This past year, we started, hey, man, that game doesn’t make sense for either one of us, so we had a discussion. It was a mutually agreed upon. We’re not going to play that game so far out, and from my perspective, I never intended playing the game the first time anyway,” said Del Conte while speaking on the On Second Thought podcast.

The Texas AD’s confession that the Longhorns never intended to follow through with the Arizona State home-and-home matchup makes critics think that the same attitude may be applied to other scheduled series – like the one with Notre Dame set for the 2028 and 2029 seasons.

The Benefits of Texas Canceling Series With Notre Dame

GettyJake Oliver #6 of the Texas Longhorns is unable to catch a pass as he is defended by Devin Studstill #14 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the second half at Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium on September 4, 2016 in Austin, Texas.

Analysts, critics, and observers have all pointed out the benefits and likelihood of Texas backing out of the Notre Dame series. With the SEC implementing an increase in mandatory conference opponents to a nine-game regular season threshold, teams that had previously filled open slots in their schedules with non-conference teams are having to reassess what is going to feasibly work and what will most benefit their programs. For Texas, the answer could be that the back-to-back scheduled slots with Notre Dame would be better suited to conference opponents located closer to Austin to minimize the team’s time on the road and strain to players.

On the flipside of that coin, the series with Notre Dame represents a notable competitor and a matchup fans will tune in to watch. Unlike Arizona State, the Fighting Irish are perennial national contender whose name and strength of schedule hold real CFP value. A series with Notre Dame isn’t going to be chalked up to filler games the same way the Texas-ASU matchup has been. Ultimately, the Texas-Notre Dame series possesses more staying power and even though the Longhorns have already backed out of one series down the road, it’s likely they’ll hold onto their slated games with Notre Dame.

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