Despite rumors to the contrary, Alabama will not be playing Notre Dame this season
With the college football season in flux, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, top programs across the country are scrambling to fill what would’ve been otherwise flawless schedules. Several conferences, including the Big Ten and Pac-12, have already opted to implement conference-only slates. This trend directly impacts the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, who now must adjust on the fly without a conference to call their own.
As the SEC has yet to make any such announcement limiting schedules to conference opponents, Notre Dame vs Alabama seemed like an option for the Chick-fil-A classic. However, that is no longer the case.
https://twitter.com/Greg_Byrne/status/1284504521247526913
Alabama and Notre Dame fans will have to wait for their future match-ups.
While the Fighting Irish was floated as a potential opponent earlier this week, the two powerhouses will not face-off, per Bama AD Greg Byrne.
“Looking forward to our future H&H series with Notre Dame football,” Byrne tweeted. “However, contrary to reports, we will not be playing this season.”
Notre Dame’s schedule is lacking three games after Stanford, Wisconsin and USC were impacted by conference-only declarations.
Alabama and Notre Dame do have a future home-and-home on the schedule, with the two programs set to face off in 2028 and 2029. By then, the rosters won’t resemble the potential top-10 matchup we were teased with this coming season. Ian Book will not have to prove himself against one of the best defenses in the SEC, and Mac Jones doesn’t get his coming out party…at least not yet
In the meantime, Chick-fil-A and the NCAA are in search of replacement games with just months before the scheduled start of the college football season. Given the state of things, any live game action is encouraged.
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