Luckily for Notre Dame, they were able to pull in an elite secondary class even without Womack. The five-man group of Joey O'Brien, Khary Adams, Chaston Smith, Ayden Pouncey, and Nick Reddish is an outstanding one. The future of the back end under secondary coach Mike Mickens is in a very good place, and is only getting better.

Under the new SEC rules, every team must schedule at least one nonconference matchup against an ACC, Big Ten, Big 12 opponent, or Notre Dame. The Irish will maintain their high-profile games against Alabama, Texas, and Florida, ensuring marquee matchups every season without giving up their independent status.

On Thursday, the SEC moved to adopt a nine-game conference schedule beginning in 2026. It’ll require them to schedule at least one ACC, Big Ten or Big 12 opponent every season, and Notre Dame is included in that group.

Which teams could end up being three permanent opponents for LSU football under the SEC's new nine-game conference schedule? Our predictions here.

James Franklin finally got his wish — and a challenge — after the SEC announced a move to a nine-game conference schedule.