Notre Dame will extend its Legends Trophy rivalry with Stanford through the 2027 and 2028 seasons, and in 2027 it will also host Kent State at Notre Dame Stadium on October 2. The Kent State matchup lands in a year shaped by the late Lou Holtz’s Kent State roo
SOUTH BEND, IN — Notre Dame is looking ahead to late-season football with a schedule that already feels loaded.
For the 2027 and 2028 seasons, the University of Notre Dame and Stanford University have agreed to extend the Legends Trophy Rivalry. In 2027. the Irish will resume their tradition of ending the season in California when they play Stanford in Stanford Stadium on November 27. 2027. The following year, Stanford will come to Notre Dame Stadium on October 14, 2028.
Those two games will be the 41st and 42nd meetings between Notre Dame and Stanford. Notre Dame leads the overall series 25-14-0. Excluding the 2020 COVID season, the Irish and Cardinal have met every season since 1998.
The rivalry traces its roots to a 1924 meeting at the Rose Bowl, when Notre Dame defeated Stanford 27-10. That matchup is what inspired The Legends Trophy, named for the two coaches from the 1924 contest: Knute Rockne for the Irish and Pop Warner for the Cardinal.
Stanford is also arriving with recent history behind Notre Dame. The Irish have won the last three meetings against Stanford, including a 42-20 triumph in 2025. That win helped Notre Dame end the 2025 season with a 10-game win streak.
The other major addition to Notre Dame’s 2027 slate comes earlier in the year, when the Irish host a first-time opponent: Kent State. Notre Dame and Kent State will meet at Notre Dame Stadium on October 2, 2027.
For Notre Dame, that game carries a kind of milestone weight. It will be the 90th program of the current 138 FBS teams the Irish have faced in their history. That total ranks fourth in College Football history behind only Georgia (97), Ohio State (96) and Michigan (95).
The matchup also pins Notre Dame against the alma mater of the late legendary Fighting Irish head coach Lou Holtz, who passed away in March. Holtz played linebacker for the Golden Flashes in 1957 and graduated in 1959 with a degree in history from Kent State.
The connection doesn’t stop there. Dick Corbett Head Football Coach Marcus Freeman — the Irish coach — was the linebackers coach at Kent State from 2011-2012. Notre Dame has also had assistant coaches who later led Kent State as head coaches: Ed Chlebek. Notre Dame’s quarterbacks coach in 1975. led Kent State from 1981-82; Pete Cordelli. who served on the Irish coaching staff from 1986-90. was head coach at Kent State from 1991-93; and Dean Pees. head coach at KSU from 1998-2003. was Notre Dame’s defensive backs coach in 1994.
Notre Dame’s broader conference routine gives another layer to the picture. Notre Dame is 11-1 against current teams from the Mid-American Conference (MAC). The Irish’s last contest against a MAC opponent came against Miami University on September 21. 2024. when Notre Dame defeated the Redhawks 28-3. Including the upcoming game against Kent State, the Irish will have played nine out of the current 12 MAC member institutions.
For fans ready to turn that calendar into plans, Notre Dame says tickets are available at FightingIrish.com to watch the Fighting Irish.
Notre Dame Stanford Legends Trophy Rivalry Kent State Lou Holtz 2027 schedule 2028 schedule College football