Texas vs. Notre Dame Series Still in Danger of Being Cancelled

The Texas Longhorns continue to stand pat on their stance when it comes to playing the upcoming home-and-home series with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in 2028 and 2029.

During SEC Meetings in Destin, FL. on Wednesday, Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte said that the Notre Dame series remains "tentatively" scheduled, making it possible that the two future matchups could be taken off the schedule as the programs figure out a best step forward.

The entire scenario stemmed from a 9-3 Texas team missing the College Football Playoff last season and eyeing smoother future non-conference schedules if total losses were the determining factor. Notre Dame also has a controversial ruling in its favor that would give the Irish an automatic bid into the CFP if they are ranked in the Top 12 of the final rankings after the regular season. This has caused many fan bases to clamor for their teams to cancel any future meetings with Notre Dame.

Texas vs. Notre Dame Cancellation Has Been Previously Discussed

Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman celebrates with players after scoring against the Syracuse Orange during the first half at Notre Dame Stadium. | Michael Caterina-Imagn Images

Del Conte and Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian have continued to be a united front when it comes to their opinions on the Notre Dame series.

While meeting with the media in December after the end of the regular season, Sarkisian said that Texas would play out its meetings at home with Ohio State (2026) and Michigan (2027) after already playing both opponents on the road, but that anything scheduled in the years after that would be up for discussion.

The No. 1 Longhorns dropped their season opener against Ohio State in Columbus last year, 14-7, and eventually missed out on the CFP with a 9-3 record despite securing three Top-10 wins.

While it's important to point to No. 9 Texas' loss in Gainesville to unranked Florida on Oct. 4 or the blowout 35-10 defeat on the road against Georgia in November as other reasons the Longhorns were left out, the program made it clear that it would seriously consider altering its future non-conference schedule if it meant a better chance at having fewer losses in the standings.

Since three Top-10 wins were not enough to get Texas in, it's understandable why the Longhorns are now preparing to act in their own self interest, even if rival fan bases don't agree with it.

From a diehard college football fan perspective, seeing two historic programs play each other in back-to-back seasons would make for some early-season cinema, but time will tell if Texas and Notre Dame end up facing off.

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