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Notre Dame football and Texas are headed to the gridiron once again. The Fighting Irish and Longhorns are agreeing to a two-game series, per NBC Sports. Both teams are currently fighting for position in the College Football Playoff rankings.
The series will be played in 2028 and 2029. It will be a home-and-home series, starting in South Bend. Texas will then host Notre Dame in 2029 in Austin.
Notre Dame leads the all-time series between the two schools, by a 9-3 margin. The last time the teams met was in 2016, with Texas pulling out an overtime victory in a thriller.
Notre Dame and Texas fighting for a CFP spot this year
Notre Dame football is having a great season, despite losing to Northern Illinois earlier in the year. The Fighting Irish, who play as an independent in football, are 9-1 on the season. The squad has a quality win over Texas A&M, but is not in certain position to get a CFP at-large bid. Notre Dame needs help, including from the wild Big 12 who may have a two or three loss team win the conference championship.
Texas football is in place to possibly win the SEC in its first season. The Longhorns are 9-1 overall, and tied for first in the SEC with a 5-1 conference record. They share the lead with the Aggies, who lost to Notre Dame earlier in the year. The only Texas football loss this season is to Georgia.
A home-and-home series between the two programs gives greater advantage to Notre Dame, in terms of scheduling opportunities. The Fighting Irish are not a conference member of any league in football, and CFP rules seem to favor schools in conferences when handing out automatic bids. Notre Dame football's strength of schedule can help the program get an at-large berth.
That might happen this season. The Fighting Irish are ranked no. 6 in the Associated Press college football poll, at time of writing. Notre Dame may be able to steal a bid from a Big 12 school or even an SEC school, due to its win-loss record. Notre Dame finishes out the season with games against Army and USC.
Texas needs to just keep winning in order to make the CFP. The Longhorns have regular season games remaining with Kentucky, and then a huge matchup with Texas A&M. The winner of the Longhorns-Aggies contest might very well take the SEC championship crown. There's still plenty of football left to play.
Notre Dame and Texas fans have to wait a few years for their first matchup, but the contests should bring a lot of excitement nonetheless.
