Notre Dame has made a rare scheduling decision that directly impacts one of college football’s most iconic rivalries. The Fighting Irish have reworked their 2026 and 2027 schedules, temporarily putting their historic rivalry with USC on hold. Instead, Notre Dame will replace USC with a Big 12 opponent for the next two seasons. The change marks the first interruption in the series since 1926.

According to Pete Thamel’s report on X, Notre Dame has finalized a new home-and-home series with BYU in 2026 and 2027. USC’s move from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten is believed to be a key factor, as the Trojans are already navigating a demanding conference slate.

BYU Cougars confirmed the rescheduling news with an official update, “New Home & Home Series added for next season”. As per the new schedule, Notre Dame will play BYU in Provo in 2026 and in South Bend in 2027.

Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports later reported that USC was the driving force behind the change, citing concerns about CFP evaluation.

“USC officials determined that the game date was not ideal considering past decisions from the CFP selection committee in punishing schools for losses, especially those late in the season,” Dellenger reported.

With BYU added, Notre Dame now has 11 of its 12 games locked in for the 2026 season. The remaining open date is expected to be filled by Stanford, another long-time rival. But the schedule hasn’t been finalized yet.

Notre Dame’s scheduling shift becomes a win for BYU

As per the Big 12 conference scheduling regulations, every member of the conference must play a non-conference Power-Four opponent as part of their schedule. With that being said, the BYU Cougars were originally scheduled to play the California Golden Bears on September 12. Since the ACC is transitioning to a nine-conference game schedule in 2026, Cal canceled the BYU matchup to free up a date for the conference game.

Kalani Sitake’s BYU was actively searching for a non-conference Power-Four opponent. At this stage, Notre Dame, a Power-Five equivalent, came with a vacant date after USC negotiations fell apart, and the Cougars made better use of it.

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Notably, Notre Dame and BYU were initially set to meet this postseason in the Pop-Tarts Bowl. However, the Fighting Irish declined the bowl invitation after narrowly missing the CFP’s 12-team field. But Notre Dame and BYU have now become regular-season opponents for the next two seasons.

The Fighting Irish’s decision to replace the Trojans with the Cougars is ideal. This will not affect Notre Dame’s strength of schedule at any cost. Kalani Sitake’s BYU has been on a rise with back-to-back 11-2 seasons. They were also among the final teams left out of the CFP field, with Tulane and James Madison ultimately receiving the nod.