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Will Notre Dame Host ESPN's GameDay In 2018 Opener?

The first ESPN GameDay in 1993 was set up in Notre Dame's Heritage Hall in 1993.
The first ESPN GameDay in 1993 was set up in Notre Dame's Heritage Hall in 1993. (Notre Dame Archives)

The 2018 season marks the Silver Anniversary of ESPN’s GameDay pregame college football show, which debuted at Notre Dame on Nov. 13, 1993 with the No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown versus Florida State.

The Fighting Irish toppled the top-ranked Seminoles 31-24 that afternoon to temporarily move to the No. 1 spot before losing the following week at home to Boston College in what was the ultimate letdown contest.

Almost to the date 25 years later — Nov. 10, 2018 — Notre Dame will host Florida State again. That would seem the ideal time to commemorate the anniversary, but rampant speculation this month (though no official confirmation yet) has GameDay possibly traveling to Notre Dame for the Sept. 1 opener versus Michigan.

Along with Auburn vs. Washington at neutral site Atlanta, the Fighting Irish-Wolverines showdown is the marquee matchup of that opening week that has the most possible College Football Playoff implications for all four teams.

Should that occur it would be the first time since the October 13, 2012 matchup with Stanford, a 20-13 overtime conquest by the Irish, that GameDay would be on the campus.

Overall, Notre Dame is 12-16 on GameDay, most recently a 41-8 loss at Miami last Nov. 11.

Beginning with the Jan. 7, 2013 debacle versus Alabama in the BCS Championship, Notre Dame tied a school-record four-game losing streak on GameDay (also losing at Michigan in 2013, at Florida State in 2014 and at Clemson in 2015) before snapping the drought with a 24-20 victory versus Temple on Oct. 31 2015 when DeShone Kizer found Will Fuller for the go-ahead score with 2:09 remaining in the contest.

Of the 28 games played by Notre Dame with ESPN’s GameDay present, Michigan has been the most frequent opponent with six appearances, while USC has had five. The results in those six contests saw the Wolverines emerge victorious five times:

1994 at ND: Michigan 26, Notre Dame 24

1998 at ND: Notre Dame 36, Michigan 20

1999 at UM: Michigan 26, Notre Dame 22

2003 at UM: Michigan 38, Notre Dame 0

2011 at UM: Michigan 35, Notre Dame 31

2013 at UM: Michigan 41, Notre Dame 30

The Irish are 4-4 all time at home when GameDay comes to town.

Since playing Stanford in October 2012, this has been the longest stretch of time Notre Dame has had without hosting GameDay. The previous mark was the five years from September 2000 (versus No. 1 Nebraska, a 27-24 overtime loss) until Oct. 15, 2005 — a 34-31 heart-wrenching defeat to No. 1 USC.

Both defeats to many were signs that Notre Dame “was on the way back,” but both eventually proved to be false alarms.

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