Notre Dame football will open its 2024 season in prime time.
When the Irish play at Texas A&M on Saturday, Aug. 31, the game will start at 7:30 p.m. EDT. The game will be televised on ABC, the network announced Tuesday in conjuction with ESPN.
The campus of Texas A&M in College Station, Texas, will also be the site of ESPN's College GameDay that Saturday.
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Notre Dame started its 2021 and 2022 seasons on the road with 7:30 p.m. EDT kickoffs as well. The Irish won at Florida State in 2021 and lost at Ohio State in 2022. Notre Dame's 2023 season started with a 7:30 p.m. kickoff on local time in Dublin, Ireland, which was 2:30 p.m. EDT, for the 42-3 victory over Navy.
Texas A&M should provide a tougher test even in head coach Mike Elko's first season leading the program. Elko, Notre Dame's defensive coordinator in 2017 and Duke's head coach the previous two seasons, took over a Texas A&M team that finished the 2023 season with a 7-6 record. Former head coach Jimbo Fisher was fired 10 games into the season.
Elko compiled a 16-9 record in two seasons at Duke. He lost a home game to the Irish, 21-14, last season on Sept. 30. College GameDay was also on Duke's campus that day.
Texas A&M's Kyle Field has a seating capacity of 102,733. Last year, Texas A&M reported an attendance figure of 108,101 for its home game against Alabama in October. That's the third-most in the stadium's history behind 110,633 for Ole Miss in 2014 and 109,835 for Auburn in 2021.
Freeman will be looking to improve his 19-8 record at Notre Dame, which started with the 2022 Fiesta Bowl. Freeman is 1-1 in season openers with the loss at Ohio State in 2022 and victory over Navy in Dublin last year.
CBS also announced the kickoff time for Purdue's home game against Notre Dame on Sept. 14. Notre Dame's third game of the season will start at 3:30 p.m. EDT and be televised on CBS.
Notre Dame last played Purdue at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Ind., in 2013. The Irish won 31-24.
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