Kirk Herbstreit labels Notre Dame schedule an embarrassment on Oct. 17

Kirk Herbstreit, ESPN College GameDay analyst, called the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football schedule an “embarrassment” during an appearance on ESPN’s Get Up on Friday, Oct. 17, 2026.

The criticism came as the show discussed the NCAA’s plan to expand the College Football Playoff to 24 teams next season. Herbstreit argued that Notre Dame’s non‑conference slate does not provide enough “real games” to earn a playoff spot.

“Notre Dame plays two games where they’re going to be challenged. This one (against BYU on Saturday), where they’re favored, and Miami at home… That cannot continue. That’s an embarrassment and incredibly unfair,” Herbstreit said.

He highlighted that the Irish face only three currently ranked opponents—No. 8 BYU, No. 3 Miami, and No. 24 SMU—through the remainder of the season, noting that the two games he identified as true challenges are the BYU matchup, where Notre Dame is favored, and the home contest against Miami.

Herbstreit also suggested a structural solution, proposing a national scheduling office that would oversee conference and non‑conference matchups to ensure stronger competition across the board.

“Instead of each conference doing the scheduling, I think we need a national scheduling office that is in charge of getting games set… we have to have better non‑conference games,” he added.

While singling out Notre Dame, Herbstreit clarified that scheduling issues affect many programs, not just the Irish. He emphasized that as the playoff expands, teams will need to face tougher opponents to be considered for postseason selection.

The remarks have prompted reaction from fans and analysts. Some argue that Notre Dame’s independence already limits its ability to schedule marquee opponents, while others point out that other independent programs like BYU and Texas Tech face similarly soft non‑conference lineups yet have not been labeled “embarrassing.” Critics also noted that Miami, a co‑owner of broadcast rights with ESPN, appears to have a softer schedule that was not mentioned.

Notre Dame’s athletic department has not yet issued an official response, but the conversation is expected to continue as the program evaluates its future non‑conference strategy ahead of the upcoming 2026 season.