The BYU-Notre Dame game is already officially locked into the calendar for Oct. 17. After both programs barely missed the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff last season, the game is now being seen as a potential CFP eliminator or a major launching point for whichever program comes out on top.
How an Annual BYU-Notre Dame Game Benefits Both Schools
Prominent college football analyst Blaine Fowler shared his thoughts on the possibility of the BYU-Notre Dame game turning into an annual rivalry.
“I really like the idea,” Fowler said on Wednesday. “I think it could become one of the great rivalries in college football, and I think it’d be great for BYU. In the Big 12, it feels like, since you know, BYU hasn’t been in the college football playoff, at least not with this number of teams in the playoff the last couple of years, that a Notre Dame game, especially a win against Notre Dame, would make all the difference. You could lose the Big 12 championship game and still get in.”
Under the current 12-team College Football Playoff structure, BYU’s clearest path into the postseason is winning the Big 12 and claiming an automatic berth. However, if the Cougars struggle with a demanding nine-game conference schedule, unbeaten but suffer a narrow loss in the conference title game, their at-large chances would likely sit on the edge.
A loss to a school like Notre Dame would not heavily damage BYU’s standing with the selection committee, but a win could dramatically elevate the school’s playoff case.
As for Notre Dame, the program is fiercely independent and does not participate in a conference championship game. So, its playoff hopes depend entirely on the quality of its regular-season schedule.
If the Irish finish 10-2 against weaker competition, they lack the extra boost that conference title games provide. That is why Fowler believes Notre Dame also benefits greatly from establishing a permanent rivalry with BYU.
“But it’s not just on BYU’s side that they need this thing,” Fowler said. “Notre Dame needs it too, and you think about Notre Dame with scheduling these days… They need some strength to schedule games, and it feels like for Marcus Freeman and his crew that some of their old natural rivals, USC, Michigan, are saying, ‘No. The way the Big 10 is these days, we don’t need to play anybody non-conference other than our Big 10 matchups. So, we’re not going to play Notre Dame anymore.’
“Notre Dame needs some quality games. They need this game maybe more than BYU does, and it could become a great national rivalry that everyone pays attention to each year when the two teams play. So I love it, and I think both teams could use it for sure.”
The two schools have met nine times since their first meeting in 1992, with Notre Dame holding a 7-2 advantage when Marcus Freeman and the Irish travel to Provo in October. Kalani Sitake’s squad will attempt to snap a four-game losing streak in the series.
According to the PFSN College Football Playoff Meter, Notre Dame currently has an 82.9% chance to reach the playoff, while BYU sits at 29.7%.
