Just days after taking down rival Michigan State for the fourth consecutive season, Michigan Wolverines head coach Sherrone Moore said he would “absolutely” like to see another rivalry to return to the schedule.
Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman discussed the matchup against Michigan on Bussin’ With the Boys last week, and he told Taylor Lewan and Will Compton he’s a “huge proponent” of the rivalry being renewed as soon as possible.
“I remember growing up watching Michigan play Notre Dame. That’s such a great rivalry,” Freeman said. “You talk about two iconic programs. I would love to see that happen in the future. We have to get that back going again.”
During his weekly media availability, Maize n Brew asked Moore about Freeman’s recent comments and if he would also support the matchup returning, and he was in favor of the possibility of the rivalry being renewed.
“Absolutely. I’m pretty close to Marcus and that would be great to see,” Moore said. “We’re in line to play in (2033), so maybe we can get that earlier, but we’ll see. It’s a traditional rivalry that is a staple in college football for sure.”
The rivalry is scheduled to resume in 2033 at Michigan Stadium, followed by a rematch at Notre Dame in 2034. It’s very possible the two programs could schedule a matchup sooner, but the likelihood of that is difficult to determine at the moment.
Michigan most recently played Notre Dame in 2019, which was a dominant 45-14 win for the Wolverines at the Big House. That result was tied for the third-largest margin of victory in the history of the rivalry. Notre Dame defeated Michigan, 24-17, in the 2018 season opener in South Bend.
Even though the rivalry dates back 138 years, it’s been common for the programs to go several years without playing. The rivalry wasn’t played from 1909-1942 and 1943-1978, but then the programs met in 31-of-37 seasons from 1978-2013.
Michigan leads the all-time series with a 25-17-1 record against Notre Dame, with the first meeting occurring in 1887. The Wolverines won the first eight matchups against Notre Dame and holds an 8-7 advantage since the start of the century.
We’ll have to wait and see if the rivalry returns to the schedule before 2033, but there’s no doubt that both head coaches are on board, and making that known publicly is a very encouraging sign.
