What a Notre Dame Football Schedule Might Look Like with New ACC Deal

Notre Dame is one step closer toward jumping into a conference.

It's possible this is as close as the program is going to get, but it's certainly something.

The school will soon become members of the ACC for every sport except football (via ESPN). While football will remain independent, there will still be a total of five games played against ACC competition each year.

The Dan Patrick Show producer Paul Pabst has more: 

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Brian Hamilton of the Chi-Trib said he thinks ND begins the ACC 5-game schedule in the 2013-14 season.

— Paul Pabst (@PaulPabst) September 12, 2012"

The big question is, how will the schedule look once this move takes place?

With many questions left to be answered, here is our best guess.

Boston College

Boston College and Notre Dame have played each other every year since 2007, shortly after the program left the Big East for the ACC.

The Eagles will likely remain regular rivals with the Irish, becoming one of the permanent teams from the ACC that the school still plays.

Notre Dame has won the last three meetings, and with the way the Eagles are going lately, this looks like it could be one of the easier contests on the schedule.

Pittsburgh

Much like Boston College, Notre Dame and Pittsburgh have played each other quite often over the years, and it's fair to say the teams have developed a rivalry.

The two sides have met a total of 64 times over the years, with Notre Dame winning 14 of the last 18 meetings.

With the Panthers leaving the Big East for the ACC, this is likely to become another regular matchup that takes up one of the five ACC games.

Enter Three ACC Teams Here

There are likely going to be scheduling pods that take place with the remaining ACC games. A schedule will be set up each year that includes the remaining ACC teams, and that schedule will be flipped each year, giving Notre Dame a chance to play each team in the conference in due time.

With a total of 12 teams left to choose from, the Irish will play every other team in the ACC (excluding Pittsburgh and Boston College) twice every 12 years.

Each meeting will include one road game and one home game for each team.

Who knows how this scheduling format will look, but making sure one of the better ACC teams is scheduled each year is a must.

It would be wise to warm up against a team such as Duke or Maryland, but making sure a Virginia Tech or Florida State is on the schedule is a must for the strength of the schedule and their BCS hopes.

USC

Regardless of what Notre Dame has decided to do with its football program, losing the USC rivalry is simply not an option. It is one of the more important games in college football and has produced many great showdowns throughout history.

These two teams have met a total of 84 times and have produced more national championships and Heisman Trophy winners than any other rivalry in the sport.

Another reason to keep this rivalry is the fact that it will keep Notre Dame relevant on the West Coast, which will help them with recruiting. Notre Dame has done a terrific job recruiting out west, as players such as Cierre Wood, Dayne Crist and Jimmy Clausen have all come from the state of California.

Stanford

This meeting has taken place every year since 1997 and has become one of the premier games on both teams' schedule. It may not be as big as the rivalry with USC, but it is important to both schools that this meeting continues.

Although Stanford has won the last three meetings, eight of the last 13 games have been decided by single digits.

Navy

Much like the rivalry with USC, the Navy and Notre Dame game is not going anywhere. This is one of the longest standing rivalries in college football, with both teams having played each other every year since 1927.

What makes this long rivalry even more interesting is that the Midshipmen are making the games more competitive as of late.

The Irish had a 43-game winning streak that was snapped back in 2007. Since then, the series has been tied at three games each.

Rotation of Big Ten Teams

Although Notre Dame has not been in a conference, it makes sure to schedule certain teams every year.

Some of those teams include Michigan, Michigan State and Purdue.

Some of those current Big Ten teams have provided the Irish with many great matchups, particularly the Wolverines, who were considered the team's first major rival.

Brian Hamilton of The Chicago Tribune believes that the Irish may rotate Big Ten opponents:

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As far as football scheduling, #NotreDame expects to protect rivalry games. That means Navy, USC, Stanford. Big Ten? May rotate those foes.

— Brian Hamilton (@ChiTribHamilton) September 12, 2012"

Hopefully, for college football fans across the county, rivals such as Michigan State and Michigan are not lost due to college football realignment.