Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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8 NOV. 14, 2026 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME Irish Debut At No. 11 In CFP Rankings Notre Dame checked in at No. 11, behind three two- loss teams, in the first College Football Playoff rankings unveiled Nov. 3 on ESPN. Since the start of the season, Notre Dame has been among the favorites to win the national championship, ac- cording to oddsmakers. Yet, the CFP selection committee has the Irish near the playoff cutoff. Committee chair Hunter Yurachek cited Notre Dame's strength of schedule and the fact that it has a 1-1 record against teams with winning records for its head-scratching spot in the initial rankings. "The committee's impressed by their performance on both sides of the ball," Yurachek said on ESPN. "They are a very good football team. But when you look at Notre Dame's schedule and the wins that they have versus the teams that are ahead of them, they don't have that signa- ture win right now. They lost in their only top-25 matchup at BYU. Their next best victory is on a neutral site against Wisconsin. "They've got a great opportunity in front of them this weekend at home versus Miami to get that signature win that I think they need to move up in the rankings. But the committee is very impressed by them. They wouldn't be 11th if we were not." As Notre Dame learned last year, however, its initial ranking means very little, and perhaps nothing, until the final poll is revealed Dec. 6. Last year, a two-loss Irish team landed at No. 10 in the opening rankings, was No. 9 the next three weeks and No. 10 in the penultimate rankings, only to get leapfrogged by Miami in the final rankings. The Irish finished at No. 11 in the final poll but still missed the CFP. Group of Five conference champions claimed two of the five automatic bids. Miami received an at-large bid, with ACC champion Duke excluded from the 12-team field. This year, all four Power Four conference champions will be awarded bids, while the highest-ranked team from the six other eligible conferences receives the fifth automatic bid, regardless of whether it wins its conference. Unlike last year, if Notre Dame finishes in the top 12, it receives an automatic bid. — Kyle Kelly NOTRE DAME AND ILLINOIS AGREE TO HOME-AND-HOME SERIES Notre Dame has swapped Big Ten opponents on its 2027 and 2028 schedules. On Nov. 3, the Fighting Irish announced a home-and-home series with Illinois. First, Notre Dame will host the Fighting Illini on Sept. 4, 2027. Then, the Irish will travel to Champaign, Ill., on Sept. 2, 2028. "This is a series I have wanted to get on the football schedule since I arrived in 2016," Illinois director of athletics Josh Whitman said in a statement. "It has been too long since these two tradition-rich programs have met, given our proximity, common values, and deep roots in Chi- cago and throughout the Midwest. "We expect to see a lot of orange and blue next year in South Bend and believe the 2028 matchup in Champaign will be one of our most anticipated home games in decades. Thank you to Notre Dame, Pete Bevacqua, Ron Powlus, and Coach Freeman for helping to make this exciting series a reality." Illinois replaces Purdue, which announced earlier in the day that it will no longer play Notre Dame in 2027 or 2028. The Boilermakers added West Virginia to their schedule to replace the Irish. Over the past three meetings, from 2024-26, Marcus Freeman's program has outscored Purdue by a combined score of 171-47. "With the expected expansion of the College Football Playoff to 24 teams, there will be sched- uling parameters for schools to follow, including having 10 regular-season games against power conference opponents," Purdue athletics director Tommy McClelland said. "Getting Coach [Barry] Odom's program into matchups that best serve our goals and ambitions has been a focus of mine since arriving in West Lafayette, and we are excited to add this game with West Virginia. The tradition-rich rivalry of Purdue and Notre Dame, a matchup that has been played on and off 90 times in program history, will be reevaluated for potential ad- dition to future schedules." Next season will be the first meeting between Notre Dame and Illinois since 1968. The No. 6 Irish won that game 58-8 and own an 11-0-1 record in the series. The Irish have been perfect at home, going 5-0. The first meeting between the two programs was in 1898, when the Irish won 5-0. The two teams played each other for seven consecutive seasons from 1940-46, and both teams have been ranked twice in the all-time meetings between the two sides. Illinois is one of two Big Ten opponents on Notre Dame's schedule next season. The Irish will also face Michigan State on the road Sept. 18. — Kyle Kelly Head coach Marcus Freeman's team is seeking its sec- ond College Football Playoff berth in three seasons. PHOTO BY LARRY BLANKENSHIP 2027 SCHEDULE Date Opponent Aug. 28 Kent State Sept. 4 Illinois Sept. 18 at Michigan State Sept. 25 Auburn Oct. 9 vs. Wake Forest* Oct. 30 at Clemson Nov. 6 Virginia Tech Nov. 20 Navy Nov. 27 at Stanford TBA BYU TBA at Duke TBA at Virginia * at Charlotte, N.C. 2028 SCHEDULE Date Opponent Sept. 2 at Illinois Sept. 9 Texas Sept. 16 Arkansas Oct. 7 Clemson Oct. 14 Stanford Oct. 28 at Auburn Nov. 4 at Virginia Tech Nov. 18 at Navy TBA Boston College TBA Miami TBA at Pittsburgh One opponent still TBD Notre Dame and Illinois last met in 1968. The Irish lead the all-time series 11-0-1. IMAGE COURTESY ILLINOIS ATHLETICS