#notre-dame-football

#notre-dame-football

Notre Dame and BYU, the top two at-large teams left out of this year's College Football Playoff field, have agreed to a home-and-home series beginning next season, which marks a halt in the Fighting Irish's longtime annual series with rival USC. The 2026 game in Provo, Utah, is expected to fill the final spot on Notre Dame's schedule, as the other 11 games have been announced. Both Notre Dame and USC have said they want to continue the cherished rivalry, but USC has expressed concern about the timing of the game, wanting it to be early in the season, when most Power 4 teams play marquee nonconference games.

We had a lot of breakups and make-ups. We fell hard. We fell fast. We were really young when we met, and in a lot of ways, we really grew and matured into adults together.

Stanford storylines: Stanford plays its final game under interim coach Frank Reich before general manager Andrew Luck makes his first permanent hire. The Cardinal is coming off its best win of the season, 31-10 over Cal. Besides reclaiming The Axe for the first time in five years, that game ensured Stanford wouldn't finish 3-9 for a fifth straight season. Stanford is 4-1 at home but lost 35-20 to the only currently ranked opponent (No. 22 Pittsburgh).

"It's rare to be a second-year college football player playing in your fifth [career] game and performing at a level he's performing at," Freeman said Monday. "It's rare. But I think CJ Carr is rare."