Notre Dame, Ohio State to play twice

— -- Notre Dame may not schedule  Michigan in the foreseeable future, but the Fighting Irish will be facing the Wolverines' biggest rival.

Notre Dame will oppose  Ohio State in a two-game series in 2022 and 2023, the schools announced Thursday, two days before the Irish's final scheduled game against Michigan.

The Irish will visit Columbus, Ohio, on Sept. 3, 2022, before hosting the Buckeyes in South Bend, Indiana, on Sept. 23, 2023.

"I am excited we are able once again to bring these two programs together on the football field," Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick said in a release. "Football games between Notre Dame and Ohio State make great sense from a strength-of-schedule standpoint. In addition, with [Ohio State athletic director] Gene Smith having both played and coached football at Notre Dame -- and with [Ohio State coach] Urban Meyer having served as an assistant football coach at Notre Dame -- there are some obvious, high-profile connections between our two institutions."

The programs have played each other five times previously, the most recent occasion being the Buckeyes' 34-20 win over the Irish in the 2006 Fiesta Bowl. They last met in the regular season as part of a home-and-home series in 1995 and 1996.

Ohio State has won the past three meetings and leads the series 3-2.

"Any time you talk about Notre Dame and Ohio State meeting in a football game, that event automatically is going to have huge national significance," Irish coach Brian Kelly said in the release. "For fans and alumni of the two schools, not to mention college football fans in general, these games will be great attractions."

Notre Dame has won 11 national championships and produced seven Heisman Trophy winners. Ohio State has seven national titles and seven Heisman winners. Between them, the programs have 1,725 victories. 

"We are extremely pleased to have this series with Notre Dame scheduled," said Martin Jarmond, Ohio State executive associate athletic director. "Notre Dame adds to the prestigious series of nonconference games we have been seeking to schedule that are competitive, attractive for our fans and exciting for our student-athletes to be a part."