Notre Dame Football: Season opener vs. Alabama would be a godsend

There’s talk that Notre Dame football could replace USC on Alabama’s schedule to open the 2020 season, especially if the Pac-12 goes conference-only.

For a brief period of time on Saturday afternoon, college football fans had some hope. While there may still be a season, there was some major intrigue with the rumor floating around that Notre Dame and Alabama were considering kicking off the season with a matchup.

With the Pac-12 declaring “conference-only” schedules for 2020 because of COVID-19, at least for right now, Alabama’s original season-opening matchup USC may not be available.

That’s a big matchup to lose for both sides.

But then rumors sparked about Notre Dame taking that spot on Alabama’s schedule and all hope in a 2020 season was restored.

A matchup between Notre Dame and Alabama is just what college football fans need. This is a matchup that would likely break TV ratings records and make some people some big money but it was quickly shot down by Alabama athletic director Greg Byrne.

While he did shoot the idea down, it’s something that has definitely gained some traction and with the SEC not sticking to a conference-only slate yet, it wouldn’t hurt to consider adding the Irish to the schedule, especially since they’re going to be looking for games all year.

A chance for Notre Dame football to prove itself

Notre Dame has been looked at as a program that has talent and can compete for New Year’s Six bowls and an occasional playoff spot, but once they face an elite team, they’re dismantled.

Just look at the College Football Playoff a couple of seasons ago against Clemson as well as the national title game against Alabama a handful of years ago. Neither game was close and those happened to be the biggest matchups Notre Dame had in years. They also faced Georgia a couple of times in the regular season (losing both) and were smacked around by Ohio State in the 2016 Fiesta Bowl.

But this would be the perfect chance for Brian Kelly’s Irish to prove themselves, especially since the 2020 squad could contend for a playoff spot. Mix in Alabama on a favorable schedule and potentially beat the Tide and playoff talk will heat up.

Notre Dame has already scheduled some elite opponents (Florida State, Ohio State, Texas A&M, Clemson and Alabama) this year and all the way until 2029, but this would be huge.

Not only would this game break the internet and airwaves at the same time, it would generate a ton of hype for both the Alabama and Notre Dame programs while giving college football fans exactly what they’ve been craving for months: an elite sporting event.