Ad Disclosure
Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua met with reporters this weekend in advance of its appearance in Monday’s National Championship Game.
Amongst the topics Bevacqua covered: the “quality” of its ACC opponents. The Fighting Irish play a rotating group of 5 ACC teams each year. Bevacqua expressed some interest in making Clemson a permanent opponent for the Fighting Irish as part of their annual ACC slate.
“When we play a team like Clemson, I think that has become such a great rivalry in such a short amount of time,” he said. “I would tell you that’s the type of game I’d love to play every year.”
Between 2018 and 2023, Notre Dame and Clemson met 5 times — including once in the College Football Playoff and in the 2020 ACC Championship Game. The other 3 meetings were all regular season affairs. However, the teams did not play in 2024.
This past season, Notre Dame’s ACC slate included Louisville, Stanford, Georgia Tech, Florida State and Virginia. Clemson doesn’t appear on Notre Dame’s 2025 schedule, either.
It may take years to accomplish, but Notre Dame-Clemson as an annual rivalry game would be a welcomed addition to the college football calendar.
Spenser is a news editor for Saturday Down South and covers college football across all Saturday Football brands.
