Notre Dame football and Miami football are trending in remarkably similar directions, and the Catholics vs. Convicts rivalry deserves a full-blown rebirth in the 2026 college football season and beyond.

With the college football landscape shifting under conference realignment, the transfer portal, and NIL, the rivalries that once defined Saturday afternoons are harder to come by. That reality makes what’s brewing between the Fighting Irish and the Hurricanes all the more important.

If you truly love college football, it’s probably because of the great rivalries of the present and past. Michigan and Ohio State. Alabama and Auburn. Texas and Oklahoma. These matchups were built on competitive hatred, and while the word “hatred” carries a negative connotation, it’s what makes the sport so special. The banter, the anxiety, the big moments, the genuine displeasure for the other sideline.

That is the heartbeat of college football.

The problem is that heartbeat is fading. Conference realignment, the portal, and NIL have collided to create a landscape that looks nothing like the one most of us grew up with. Some of those rivalries we held near and dear are dwindling, if not completely gone.

The Notre Dame side of the equation

From Notre Dame’s perspective, Michigan is no longer on the schedule. USC just fell off after this past season, and the Fighting Irish are working tirelessly to get that one back, even with Lincoln Riley’s soft reluctance.

There’s a reason for that. Whether Notre Dame fans want to admit it or not, Michigan and USC are good for the program. Those are the brands Irish fans were built up around hating, and Saturdays are beginning to miss that energy more and more.

We don’t remember Rocket Ismael making some great plays against an average team, or an ordinary brand. No, we remember what he did against the Michigan Wolverines.

Head coach Marcus Freeman has raised the ceiling since arriving in South Bend, first as defensive coordinator and then as head coach. Notre Dame played in the national title game following the 2024 season. The program is clearly trending in a great direction, but it still has to get over the mountaintop.

The Fighting Irish need compelling rivals to keep fueling that climb.

Why Miami is the perfect fit right now

For a long time after the early 2000s, both Notre Dame and Miami were hollow shells of their former selves. The Miami teams of the 1980s and the 2001 national championship squad had been long gone, waiting to be revived. Head coach Mario Cristobal is doing exactly that. Miami played in the national title game this past season, and while the Hurricanes didn’t win it, the trajectory is undeniable.

On Miami’s side, Florida State remains the most natural rival. But the Seminoles are in a really rough spot under head coach Mike Norvell, trending in a bad direction reminiscent of what both Notre Dame and Miami experienced in the mid-to-late 2000s. Who knows when Florida State will return to the level fans remember from the Bobby Bowden era?

That creates an opening. Notre Dame and Miami are remarkably comparable right now. Proud traditions trending upward. Programs that have tasted success in recent seasons but haven’t yet captured the ultimate prize. The game this past season, although Notre Dame came out on the losing end, was a great example of a rivalry hopefully being reborn.

This doesn’t need to happen every regular season

Here is the thing about this rivalry: it doesn’t need to be an annual regular-season fixture. With where Freeman and Cristobal have their respective programs, there is a good chance this becomes a postseason rivalry for the considerable future. That might actually make it better. The stakes would be enormous every time these two teams meet, at least in theory.

You don’t have to spend long on social media any given day to understand that these fan bases genuinely dislike each other. The Catholics vs. Convicts shirts resurface every time a game approaches. The Miami fan base, fair weather and all, comes out swinging regardless of their record. And Notre Dame fans fire right back.

I mean that in the most positive way possible. If college football is going to survive in the deep depths of our hearts, for the game we grew up loving with so much passion, rivalries must drive the emotions each Saturday. Geographically, Notre Dame and Miami are not natural rivals. They do not play each other every year. But that competitive hatred will always be there, and it needs to continue driving this matchup for years to come.

Call it a rivalry, because this is the best part of college football. Both programs need each other right now in what is an ever-evolving college football landscape.