Could Expanded College Football Playoff End Purdue-Notre Dame Rivalry Series?

Purdue and Notre Dame are scheduled to play through the 2028 college football season, but could more changes to the sport end the series early?

Purdue defensive back John Slaughter breaks up a pass. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Conversations have died down a bit since No. 5 Notre Dame thumped Purdue 49-10 on Sept. 26, but the question remains unanswered: Will the Boilers continue their rivalry series with the Fighting Irish moving forward?

Purdue might be preparing for a trip to State College for a showdown with Penn State this weekend, but head coach Barry Odom was asked about the future of the Notre Dame series. While he didn't provide an answer about the threat of ending the rivalry clash, it sounds like the Boilers' scheduling model may be impacted by the potential expansion of the College Football Playoff.

"I don't talk with anyone in South Bend," Odom said during his press conference on Monday. "I know if the vote goes through with the expanded playoffs, we'll play nine conference games, three non-conference games, and one of those has to be a Power Four opponent. That would be my knowledge at this point."

Purdue and Notre Dame are currently scheduled to play through the 2028 season. As it currently stands, the Boilers will head to South Bend on Sept. 4, 2027, and the Fighting Irish will return to West Lafayette on Sept. 23, 2028.

Obviously, Notre Dame does not play in a Power Four conference, but is considered a power opponent. Would the Irish fill that requirement on Purdue's schedule if a 24-team Playoff proposal passes? Or would the Boilers have to find an additional power opponent to add to their schedule?

That would likely factor into a decision about the rivalry series moving forward.

Two options for the Purdue-Notre Dame series

Purdue Boilermakers head coach Barry Odom. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

There are ultimately two options for the future of the Purdue-Notre Dame series. The Boilermakers and Fighting Irish could push forward with the current schedule and wait for the series to end after the 2028 season. The other possibility is one school — or both — decides to scrap the remaining two games and try to schedule other opponents.

Right now, Purdue has a Power Four opponent on the schedule for every season through 2034, with the exception of the 2027 campaign. Currently, Notre Dame fills that void. In 2028, the Boilers play both Notre Dame and Wake Forest.

Year	Power 4 opponent
2027	at Notre Dame
2028	at Wake Forest
2028	Notre Dame
2029	at Vanderbilt
2030	at TCU
2031	at North Carolina
2032	North Carolina
2033	at Ole Miss
2034	Ole Miss

Regardless of what happens, Purdue is in a position where it doesn't have to reschedule Notre Dame anytime soon. If it rips up the contract with the Fighting Irish moving forward, it would need to find a replacement opponent for 2027, but that probably wouldn't be a difficult task.

Purdue hasn't benefited from playing Notre Dame

Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Let's be honest, there have been some fun moments in the Purdue-Notre Dame rivalry series throughout history, but this matchup hasn't served the Boilermakers recently. It's been dominated by the Irish.

Notre Dame has won 11 straight games in the series, with Purdue's last victory coming in 2007. The Fighting Irish have won the last three games by an average of 41.3 points per game.

In no way has this game benefited the Boilermakers.

Purdue might be willing to explore future home-and-home series with Notre Dame down the road, just to keep the rivalry alive. But this isn't a matchup that needs to be played regularly. The Irish decided to walk away from the annual rivalry following the 2014 season. There's no real advantage, at least right now, to have Notre Dame on the schedule.

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