Clemson vs. Notre Dame in football on an annual basis? It’s about to happen
Clemson and Notre Dame have played a lot of great football games.
Under a new scheduling agreement, expect that to keep happening.
The Tigers and the Fighting Irish have agreed to a 12-year scheduling agreement in which they’ll play each other annually in a rotating home-and-home series from 2027 to 2038, both schools announced via press release on Tuesday morning.
ESPN reported, citing sources, that the new scheduling agreement is not expected to impact the status of the Clemson-South Carolina series, another premier non-conference game the Tigers play annually at the end of the season.
Rather, the Notre Dame scheduling agreement is an insurance policy of sorts at a time when other big non-conference games on Clemson’s future schedules (Georgia, Oklahoma) could be impacted by the SEC moving to nine conference games.
The fact the ACC cooperated with the move is also indicative of the sort of perks Clemson may get from dropping its lawsuit against the conference earlier this year and agreeing to stay in the ACC for the short term with added revenue opportunities.
“This locks in a huge rivalry for us with a non-conference opponent that’s going to be strong year in and year out,” Clemson athletic director Graham Neff told ESPN’s David Hale in a story that posted Tuesday morning. “The association of national brands like Clemson and Notre Dame create a great fan experience, strong viewership and value on that is obviously a fundamental component.”
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Explaining new Clemson-Notre Dame scheduling agreement
Clemson had already been scheduled to play Notre Dame in 2027 (home), 2028 (road), 2031 (home), 2034 (road) and 2037 (home). Their new scheduling agreement will overlap with and incorporate those already-set dates.
The games will also count toward Notre Dame’s required five games vs. ACC opponents, ESPN reported, citing sources. The Fighting Irish are an FBS independent but have played at least five games vs. ACC teams annually since the 2010s under a scheduling agreement with the conference.
All the Notre Dame games would stay on Clemson’s schedule regardless of the school’s conference affiliation, ESPN added. That’s an interesting caveat for a university that hasn’t been shy about exploring its options and will be in strong position to depart the ACC in five years as a result of its settlement with the league.
The Big Ten already plays nine conference games, and the SEC is expected to eventually move to nine conference games, too. That model leaves teams with just three non-conference games and could lead to future game cancellations.
For example, Clemson is currently scheduled to play Georgia four times from 2029-2033 and has a home-and-home with Oklahoma in 2035-36. If SEC teams are already playing nine conference games, they probably aren’t going to be as motivated to play multiple power conference schools in their non-conference schedule as well.
The Notre Dame scheduling model also fits into Clemson coach Dabo Swinney’s scheduling philosophy of the Tigers playing South Carolina, one other power conference school, one Group of Five school and one in-state FCS school for their four non-conference games. ACC teams play eight conference games annually.
Clemson-Notre Dame football series
Clemson and Notre Dame have played eight times dating back to 1977, with six of those meetings coming since the 2015 season. The Tigers lead the series 5-3.
The series has generated a number of instant classics, including Clemson’s “Bring your own guts” win in a downpour at Memorial Stadium in 2015, a 2018 College Football Playoff semifinal and two ranked meetings during the 2020 season.
At least one of the teams has been ranked in the AP Top 15 nationally in all eight previous meetings. Both teams have been ranked top 15 in five of the eight games, and the series has included three AP Top 5 meetings (2018, 2020 twice).
Clemson most recently beat Notre Dame, 31-23, at home in 2023.
“Even in just the last decade, matchups between Clemson and Notre Dame have produced incredibly memorable moments and games,” Neff said in a press release, adding that “we know these will be must-see matchups for fans at Memorial Stadium and Notre Dame Stadium as well as television audiences nationwide.”
This story was originally published May 6, 2025 at 9:33 AM.
