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Notre Dame and Michigan renew football rivalry in 2018

By Paul A. Esden Jr.

Sep 6, 2014; South Bend, IN, USA; The Michigan Wolverines and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish face off at the line of scrimmage in the third quarter at Notre Dame Stadium. Notre Dame won 31-0. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 6, 2014; South Bend, IN, USA; The Michigan Wolverines and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish face off at the line of scrimmage in the third quarter at Notre Dame Stadium. Notre Dame won 31-0. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /
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One of the best college football rivalries is finally back after a two-year hiatus. Notre Dame and Michigan will kick things off starting in 2018.

The Michigan and Notre Dame football rivalry will officially be renewed in 2018. Both schools announced Thursday that the Wolverines and Fighting Irish will square off in the 2018 season opener on Sept. 1 in South Bend, Indiana.

The return contest is set for Oct. 26, 2019, in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

According to ESPN, to make room for Notre Dame, Michigan has canceled its series with Arkansas and moved a 2019 Big Ten game against Rutgers to a new date. The Wolverines will pay the Razorbacks a $2 million buyout for games that were scheduled in 2018 and 2019.

Michigan and Notre Dame have played over 40 times in a rivalry that goes back more than a century, but ended suddenly, when Notre Dame dropped the series to make room to schedule more ACC teams as part of a former agreement. It wasn’t the cleanest of separations, after the way the rivalry ended in 2014, former Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon said it would be a long time before the two schools played again.

Over the last decade, the series has been competitive, with Michigan winning six of the past 10 contests. Although the Wolverines lead the all-time series 24-17-1.

This rivalry being renewed is great for not only both of these schools, but it’s even better for college football. With the ever-changing conference landscape in college football, too often we’re witnessing the end of storied rivalries.

These two heavyweights are considered to be among the elite college football programs in the country. Notre Dame and Michigan respectively rank No. 1 (Notre Dame) and No. 2 (Michigan) in winning percentage and No. 1 (Michigan) and No. 3 (Notre Dame) in all-time wins.

More saturday blitz: 50 Greatest College Football Rivalries of All-Time

The rivalry has been heightened by the two schools’ competition for the all-time win percentage, which each has held during their history. But perhaps the most important hardware that has been waged between them is the national championships, with each school claiming 11.

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