More cowbell?
More night games. At Notre Dame Stadium, that is.
Notre Dame head football coach Marcus Freeman sort of meandered his way into that sentiment last November after the Irish took apart Florida State, 52-3, on Nov. 8 in the only primetime game staged at Notre Dame Stadium in 2024.
In 2025, the Irish will get three of them, tying for the most played at home in a single season with the 2018 team — ND’s first-ever to reach the College Football Playoff. The Irish ended up playing seven night games total that season.
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The three after-dark opponents in the upcoming season are Texas A&M (Sept. 13), USC (Oct. 11) and Navy (Nov. 8). Those all carry a 7:30 ET start time on NBC/Peacock. The other four home games are all 3:30 starts. There is no Shamrock Series game this season.
“It’s a double-edged sword, as they say,” Freeman said of the night-game concept, two days after ND’s November primetime affair. “The atmosphere and environment is better for night games. We know that. I don't know if it's the lights, crowd or what it is, but there's also a back end of it.
“And the back end of it is the lack of rest. You lose the valuable sleep and recovery that you need postgame on Saturdays, especially a night away game, but even at home. And I think our players, obviously, Sunday they have their day off, so they can try to recover a little bit.
“But coaches? We’re up and we're at it. We’ve got to go. So, that's the cost of having some of those electric games at night. But again, if [AD] Pete [Bevacqua] wants to schedule more night games, I’m all for it.”
Wish granted.
Of the four afternoon starts — Purdue (Sept. 20), Boise State (Oct. 4), NC State (Oct. 18) and Syracuse (Nov. 22) — the NC State game is the one that has been designated at the Peacock streaming exclusive.
Notre Dame is coming off a 14-2 season in which the Irish finished No. 2 in both major polls. The Irish fell 34-23 to Ohio State in the CFP National Championship Game, Jan. 20 in Atlanta.
The Irish open the season on the road in a Sunday night game, Aug. 31 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla., against Miami (7:30 ET on ABC).
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