SEC Powerhouse Opponent in Jeopardy for Notre Dame Football

Could a certain powerhouse from the SEC be showing its cards about a future series with Notre Dame?

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman looks on during the first half of a NCAA football game against Navy at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2025, in South Bend. | MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

A quick look at Notre Dame's 2026 football schedules show 12 games that will end in disappointment if the Fighting Irish fail to go 12-0.

Yes, there is a difficult trip to BYU and what could be a top-five showdown against Miami, but when you're Notre Dame, it's a schedule you should pick up and put down 12-straight times.

Notre Dame has been under much ridicule about the schedule, but it's hard to blame the Irish for scheduling teams that were much better when the contracts for many of these games were actually signed.

Notre Dame Set for Home-and-Home with Texas

Sep 5, 2015; South Bend, IN, USA; Texas Longhorns quarterback Tyrone Swoopes (18) is tackled by Notre Dame Fighting Irish linebacker Jaylon Smith (9) in the second quarter at Notre Dame Stadium. | Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

A look to the future shows several bigger names on Notre Dame's schedule than 2026 brings.

Arguably, the biggest name of those future opponents is Texas, which will travel to South Bend in 2028 before hosting the Irish in Austin in 2029.

Based on recent news, though, is it a sure thing that Texas follows through with the Notre Dame games as currently scheduled?

What Texas recently did brings that question to the surface when it comes to Notre Dame.

Texas Cancels Home-and-Home with Arizona State

Texas and Arizona State were scheduled to meet in the 2032 and 2033 seasons in a home-and-home deal. However, last week Texas backed out of the deal, and the Texas Athletic Director didn't shoot down potentially moving on from the Notre Dame series, either.

While joining the On Second Thought podcast, Texas athletic director Chris del Conte stated of the Notre Dame series, "Everything is fluid right now because I don't know exactly."

Nick Shepkowski's Quick Takeaway

Texas traveled to Michigan in 2024 and Ohio State in 2025. It now gets to play host to both those programs in 2026 and 2027. Does it want to continue to play powerhouse programs out of conference beyond that, though?

What will the requirements of the SEC schedule be by the time the Notre Dame games pop up on the schedule? Will the SEC require nine conference games and one out-of-conference game against a Power Four program?

This is part of the give and take of college football's postseason. Everything is built around making the College Football Playoff, and the regular season has unquestionably taken a hit because of that.

When you look to place blame for it happening this way, perhaps look no further than this past season's national champion.

Indiana played the likes of Old Dominion, Indiana State, and Kennesaw State in non-conference before rattling off a 16-0 run that resulted in winning the title. It's hard to argue with the formula, and although most fans of the sport hate the idea of fewer big-time regular season games on college campuses, the need to make the playoff simply carries that much weight.

I'd hold my breath, Notre Dame fans.