One of the enduring traditions of college football is fans and analysts outside of South Bend trying to claim that Notre Dame is "irrelevant." While that's never really accurate, considering plenty of people paid attention to the Fighting Irish during their worst seasons, it's completely inaccurate these days. That was demonstrated again earlier this month when Andy Staples and Ari Wasserman named ND among the "juiciest" matchups for the 2026 season.
The two On3 analysts put together a list of the games they're most excited to watch at the beginning of the month, and despite the Irish having a pretty weak schedule, they still made the 10-game list. Unsurprisingly, the game that has caught their eye is the big showdown on November 7.
The late fall matchup between Notre Dame and Miami could play a very large part in determining the College Football Playoff field at the very least. It's not out of the question to think that the game will shift the balance of power in the race to a national title.
🚨 NEW SHOW 🚨
— Andy & Ari On3 (@AndyAriOn3) March 2, 2026
🧃 The TOP 10 JUICIEST Matchups of the 2026 College Football Season
Which ones did we miss?
(via @AndyStaples & @AriWasserman) pic.twitter.com/VNe6H1jkUD
Notre Dame football headlines Top 10 'juiciest' games of 2026
The rest of the games that the On3 analysts believe will be the best tilts of the season aren't exactly a surprise:
- LSU at Ole Miss (September 19)
- Ohio State at Texas (September 12)
- Miami at Notre Dame (November 7)
- Georgia at Alabama (October 10)
- Florida at Auburn (September 19)
- Penn State at Michigan (October 17)
- Texas Tech at Cincinnati (October 24)
- Oregon at USC (September 26)
- Duke at Miami (November 17)
- Texas at Texas A&M (November 27)
Miami is going to have a wild November if Ari and Andy are correct. Just 10 days after the Hurricanes take on Notre Dame, they'll face off against Duke in what could be the game that decides one half of the ACC Championship game.