Clemson to face Notre Dame eight times in next 20 years

Death Valley has about 14 years to get ready for some Monday Night Football.

The Clemson football team will host Notre Dame in a Labor Day-Monday night primetime matchup to open the 2031 season, the ACC announced Thursday.

The ACC will continue to grant Notre Dame partial membership through the 2037 season. All Notre Dame teams except for football compete fully in the league. Notre Dame has appeased the ACC with a scheduling partnership that requires it to play five football games each season against ACC opponents.

The arrangement also allows Notre Dame to maintain its lucrative independent television rights deal. In 2013, Notre Dame negotiated a 10-year agreement with the NBC Sports Group that earns the school $15 million per season until 2025.

That deal may only increase in value as College Football Playoff contenders Clemson, Florida State, Virginia Tech and Miami rotate into the Fighting Irish’s schedule. Clemson’s victory against Notre Dame in 2015 propelled its national profile. Prior to Thursday’s announcement, the Tigers were scheduled to visit South Bend in 2020 and 2022.

The ACC has added five more meetings between Clemson and Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish will return to Death Valley in 2027, 2031 and 2037. Clemson will trek to Touchdown Jesus in 2028 and 2034. The 2015 clash was Clemson’s third meeting with the Irish. Clemson leads the series to 2-1.

Through the next 10 years, the College Football Playoff could expand and force independent teams to join conferences. Although the Big Ten is the best geographical and historical fit for Notre Dame, this new relationship makes the ACC the likely landing spot.

Beyond that speculation, at least for now, Clemson fans might as well start saving for that 2040-57 set of Clemson-Notre Dame games. No one wants to miss the opportunity to tailgate on Mars.

This story was originally published May 11, 2017 at 2:15 PM with the headline "Clemson to face Notre Dame eight times in next 20 years."