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The Florida Gators and Notre Dame Fighting Irish announced in 2021 that the two historic programs would play a home-and-home series for the first time. Florida was set to hit the road first to play at Notre Dame on Nov. 15, 2031, before the Irish headed to The Swamp to face the Gators on Sept. 11, 2032.
Amid constant changes to the sport’s landscape, including the addition of a ninth game to Florida’s SEC schedule and the College Football Playoff expanding to 24 teams starting in 2027, the Gators have now canceled the series.
Florida was able to do so without financial penalty given the addition of the ninth SEC game, according to the Associated Press.
Essentially, UF chose continuing its annual series with Florida State over forcing the Notre Dame series onto its schedule, and it’s possible that other similar agreements could soon be on the chopping block.
The Gators previously canceled series with Texas (2030-31) after it joined the SEC, along with California (2026-27), NC State (2026, 2032) and Arizona State (2028, 2031). UF is scheduled to play Colorado (2028-29), but that series will likely be canceled, too.
Florida and Notre Dame have met only once in the 1992 Sugar Bowl; the Fighting Irish beat the Gators, 39-28.
Florida-Notre Dame was a matchup long in the works. Sources told Only Gators in late 2019 that the Gators and Irish had at least agreed in principle on terms of a home-and-home series. The games were announced more than a year later in February 2021.
The series was uncommon for Florida, which did not normally play nonconference games of such magnitude — particularly on the road and late in a season — against teams other than FSU. The Gators had originally scheduled Notre Dame, along with Texas, Arizona State and Florida State, for 2031 — four Power Four nonconference games in a single season with true road games against two of the most storied programs in college football history.
