The Notre Dame football team has unintentionally been thrust into the middle of a weird slap fight between Texas and Texas Tech. Red Raiders head coach Joey McGuire can't seem to keep the Fighting Irish out of his mouth, though this time, it is possible McGuire could do Marcus Freeman and his squad a solid.
Earlier this month, Longhorns AD Chris Del Conte made comments that sounded suspiciously like he planned to back out of the scheduling agreement with the Irish, set to start in 2028. Should that happen, the Golden Domers could be in a spot of trouble, considering the rest of their schedule beyond Texas is not all that difficult. However, when McGuire stepped into the breach, he might have offered a solution while also shaming his in-state rivals in a way that might get them to stick to the original plan.
After hearing that Texas might back out of its series against Notre Dame, McGuire offered to step in and have Texas Tech play the Irish. Just how serious that comment was is certainly an open question. Especially since McGuire is clearly trying to get under the Longhorns' and head coach Steve Sarkisian's skin.
"I saw a comment by [Del Conte] that he's not sure if Texas is going to play Notre Dame in '28 and '29. We need a '28 and '29 game too because Mississippi State back out on us, so we'll take that game if they want to get out of it. If Texas doesn't want to play Notre Dame, we would love to play Notre Dame in '28, '29."
Joey McGuire’s Texas Tech offer could help Notre Dame football if Texas backs out
Even if the Longhorns don't back out of the scheduling agreement, McGuire's offer could be quite interesting to the folks in South Bend. After all, unless the College Football Playoff Field eventually grows to 24 teams, the Fighting Irish will need all the schedule help it can get. The Red Raiders were a CFP squad last year. Their very easy schedule in 2026 likely means a repeat performance (if they can find a quarterback).
Taking on two Lonestar State teams would be a great way for Notre Dame to boost its strength of schedule. Considering that McGuire is technically calling out Sarkisian and his school, Marcus Freemn and his program should call the Tech coach's bluff.
2028 or 2029 could end up being one heck of a schedule if ND can keep Texas and add Texas Tech. Imagine if all the talk about restarting the USC rivalry comes true. There certainly wouldn't be many arguments that Freeman's team was dodging quality opponents if that series could restart at the same time.
There's the added bonus that if McGuire is just trying to stir the pot with the Longhorns, if he's just mad that Sarkisian correctly called the Red Raiders' 2026 schedule soft, then Notre Dame calling McGuire's bluff would make him look worse too. Considering he can't seem to stop talking about the Fighting Irish, making the Big 12 coach look bad would be plenty fun as the only goal.
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