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Notre Dame-Alabama To Meet 2028-29 In Season Openers

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Notre Dame and Alabama most recently met in the Jan. 7, 2013 BCS Championship.
Notre Dame and Alabama most recently met in the Jan. 7, 2013 BCS Championship. (Associated Press)
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In a continuing emphasis to play members from the Southeastern Conference in football during the regular season, Notre Dame announced Thursday (April 19) a two-game home-and-home series with Alabama in 2028-29.

The Fighting Irish will host the Crimson Tide on Sept. 2, 2028, and then travel to Alabama Sept. 1, 2029 to open that campaign.

In the seven-game history between the two schools, this will be the third time they meet in a home-and-home during the regular season. The three other games took place in bowl games with the national title on the line. Notre Dame has a 5-2 lead in the series.

The first two contests occurred in the 1973 Sugar Bowl and the 1975 Orange Bowl with the late Ara Parseghian as the Notre Dame head coach.

The No. 3 and 10-0 Fighting Irish defeated No. 1 and 11-0 Alabama on Dec. 31, 1973 in the Sugar Bowl, 24-23, to capture the national title.

A year later, in Parseghian’s final game, Notre Dame and the Crimson Tide were pared up in the Jan. 1, 1975 Orange Bowl. This time the Irish prevailed by a 13-11 count over the 11-0 Alabama team, but because Parseghian’s crew was 9-2 and had lost the regular season finale at USC 55-24 (bowl games were matched up before the end of the regular season back then), it did not win the title this time.

The most recent bowl meeting was Jan. 7, 2013, when No. 2 Alabama crushed No. 1 and 12-0 Notre Dame 42-14 in the BCS Championship held in Miami.

The four regular season meetings were first held in 1976 and 1980, and then in 1986-87.

On Nov. 13, 1976, No. 18 Notre Dame defeated No. 10 Alabama 21-18 at home — making them 3-0 against the Crimson Tide with symmetrical one-, two- and three-point victories.

“I don’t reckon I’ll be around for the four-pointer,” lamented venerable Alabama head coach Paul “Bear” Bryant after the defeat, referring to the next meeting at Legion Field in Birmingham in 1980.

However, after winning national titles in 1978 and 1979, the legendary Bear was still on the sidelines Nov. 15, 1980 when his No. 5 Crimson Tide lost at home to No. 6 Notre Dame, 7-0 — which helped put the Irish into the Sugar Bowl in head coach Dan Devine’s final season versus No. 1 Georgia. (Had Alabama not missed a second-half field goal to make it 7-3, it would have been "the four-pointer.")

The next home-and-home occurred in 1986-87, Lou Holtz’s first two seasons at Notre Dame when it was in a rebuilding mode. Alabama was coached by Ray Perkins in 1986 and Bill Curry in 1987.

No. 2 Alabama ended its 0-4 frustration against the 1-2 Irish with a 28-10 victory in Birmingham on Oct. 4, 1986.

The following year No. 7 Notre Dame posted the largest margin of victory in the series with a 37-6 conquest of No. 10 Alabama on Nov. 14, 1987.

Among other SEC schools Notre Dame has recently scheduled games against are Georgia (2017 and 2019), Vanderbilt (2018), Arkansas (2020 and 2025) and Texas A&M (2024-25).

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