Ideal Playoff Matchups: Three Dream Matchups to Face Notre Dame at Notre Dame Stadium

Liam Farrell
4 days ago
3 min read

Notre Dame's regular season schedule could look drastically different with potential SEC and Big Ten scheduling realignments. With this being said, here are a list of teams that would be classic matchups to travel to Notre Dame Stadium and face the Fighting Irish.

Photo by The Irish Tribune

Last season, Notre Dame and Indiana welcomed the college football world to the 12-team playoff. In what resembled a state championship game, the Fighting Irish took care of the Hoosiers in a hostile and historic environment.

With the regular season schedule in a bit of turmoil, with the USC rivalry potentially in jeopardy and the Fighting Irish adding the Clemson Tigers to their yearly schedule, some of these home playoff games could create lifelong memories.

Much of the joy that surrounds the playoff is also the opportunity for Notre Dame to play teams they don't normally play. Kind of like the 2029 season, where the Irish are already confirmed to travel to Austin to play Texas, Tallahassee to play the Seminoles, and also have to travel to Clemson, while opening the year at home to host the Alabama Crimson Tide.

The ever-changing landscape of college football could produce some out-of-character matchups for Notre Dame, and knowing this, I'd like to take a deep dive into some teams I'd like to see travel to Notre Dame Stadium for a college football playoff game.

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Penn State

Coming off one of the most historic Orange Bowl games of all time, this matchup between the Nittany Lions and the Fighting Irish could be the continuation of great matchups. They are both two college football programs on the rise, especially in the NIL era.

With James Franklin’s handling of the Orange Bowl media day, Drew Allar’s late-game interception, and Mitch Jeter’s kick that will be etched in the history books, this game would be hyped like no other.

This time, under the lights in South Bend, there would surely be no bigger moment in the weekend than this matchup. A yearly rivalry with the Nittany Lions could be another exciting opportunity as well, with a White Out game in Beaver Stadium being a daunting, yet thrilling challenge.

Alabama

The history behind the two programs would also lead to a ratings extravaganza for whoever has the media rights down the road for the CFP.

Especially with the recent bloodbaths the Irish have endured from the Crimson Tide, the chance to rewrite the number of bad losses in the past decade with a playoff victory would be so satisfying.

The chance for an SEC program to come to a snowy South Bend in December would surely be an advantage for Notre Dame as well, and one Marcus Freeman and company would appreciate the opportunity to play in.

LSU

Picture this: Brian Kelly returning to Notre Dame Stadium to face a Marcus Freeman-led Notre Dame team.

To get the opportunity to face Kelly in a big game would be a moment Notre Dame fans have been waiting for; a shot at redemption for the bitter ending to the Kelly era.

It is similar to Alabama as well that the Tigers have a storied history and are an SEC school that "shops down a different aisle than the Fighting Irish." To see LSU try and adapt to the physical front of the Fighting Irish in the snow and treacherous conditions would be must-see tv. Also seeing Kelly and Freeman in the postgame handshake at midfield would be another snipped Notre Dame fans would die for.