No. 8 BYU and No. 2 Notre Dame agreed to a home-and-home that starts in Provo

Notre Dame and BYU, ranked No. 2 and No. 8 respectively, will open a home-and-home football series this Saturday night in Provo, the schools announced after both teams narrowly missed selection to the 2025 College Football Playoff. The matchup, scheduled for 5:30 p.m. MDT on ABC, gives both programs a marquee national test after a playoff season that ended one rung short of the bracket.

For BYU, the timing is striking because the program’s national profile is often tied to standout moments against top-tier opponents. This game moves beyond a typical marquee nonconference date, because it starts a multi-year agreement with one of the sport’s most established brands. BYU will host Notre Dame first, with the return game set for the next stop on the series.

Notre Dame, meanwhile, is getting the kind of opponent it has come to expect in the modern era, a top-10-caliber challenger with a unique identity and a loyal fan base at home. Coming off a year in which the Fighting Irish were close to the playoff picture, the series offers a clear, ongoing measuring stick against a nationally relevant team.

Both programs reportedly viewed the arrangement as getting what they wished for after the 2025 playoff outcome. Instead of letting that disappointment linger as a single season-long question, the home-and-home provides a longer storyline, with two meetings that can change how each program is evaluated in subsequent rankings and bowl conversations.

Still, the nature of a home-and-home means the story will not be settled on one night in Provo. A single result matters for momentum, but the series format also means coaching, roster development, and execution across an extended period will shape the long-term outcome. The first game is the opening chapter, not the whole book.

What to watch next is how both teams handle the heightened stage and the travel-and-prep demands that come with playing a top opponent as part of a two-game commitment. With BYU hosting to begin the series, the focus will be on whether BYU can translate its home environment into sustained control, while Notre Dame tries to impose its game plan early and avoid letting the atmosphere dictate tempo.

If the series lives up to the matchup’s billing, it also will have ripple effects for how each school recruits and schedules. A recurring, high-visibility opponent can become a reference point for players and coordinators, and it can influence future nonconference expectations as both programs build toward the kind of seasonal consistency that leads to playoff inclusion.