The Notre Dame football team gets something in its seventh game of the season it might not have been counting on before the season started.
A ranked opponent.
Saturday’s third night game in three weeks, 7:30 EDT at sold-out L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium, features a clash with the newly anointed No. 25 team in both the Associated Press and AFCA coaches polls — Louisville (5-0).
The Irish (5-1) will arrive as a top 10 team, per the AP and the FWAA-NFF Super 16 polls. Notre Dame moved up one spot in each, to No. 10, following its frenetic 21-14 survival of then-No. 17 Duke in Durham, N.C., this past Saturday night
Notre Dame moved up two spots in the coaches poll, from 13th to 11th.
Following the Louisville game, AP No. 9 USC (5-0) comes to Notre Dame Stadium on Oct. 14. Provided unranked Arizona (3-2) doesn’t knock the Trojans out of the Top 25 this coming weekend, Notre Dame on Oct. 14 will face a ranked opponent for the fourth week in a row for the first time since 2000 and only the sixth time in school history.
The other years were 1992, 1990, 1957 and 1943. It will also mark the first time in school history that Notre Dame played four night games in succession.
Louisville is coming off a 13-10 road win at NC State on Friday night. The Irish also won at NC State this season, 45-24 on Sept. 9.
FWAA-NFF Super 16 poll
AP and Coaches polls
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