The worst-kept secret around Notre Dame football no longer is one. After months of delays, Notre Dame announced its new 12th game for the 2024 schedule, a familiar opponent in a familiar venue: The Irish will bring back the Shamrock Series for the second time under Marcus Freeman, returning to Yankee Stadium to face Army on Nov. 23.
That means the Irish will finish next season on both coasts — Notre Dame plays at USC a week later — while also making two trips to the New York area. The Irish face Navy at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., on Oct. 26.
Notre Dame faced Army at Yankee Stadium during Brian Kelly’s first season in 2010, also a Shamrock Series game. The Irish and Black Knights last met in San Antonio in 2016, another Shamrock Series event.
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Notre Dame has tried to make the Shamrock Series games about the venue, the opponent or the narrative, with this year’s edition leaning hard into the third of those three. This season marks the 100th anniversary of the Four Horsemen — Jim Crowley, Elmer Layden, Don Miller and Harry Stuhldreher — which were written into existence by Grantland Rice in the New York Herald Tribune after Knute Rockne’s 13-7 win over Army in 1924.
Notre Dame’s most recent Shamrock Series game was against BYU in 2022 in Las Vegas, the highest-drawing game in the series in nine years.
Why did Notre Dame schedule a second academy?
This wasn’t the plan, which is part of the reason it took months to come to an announcement.
Notre Dame needed to fill a home slot after Miami backed out of a scheduled trip to South Bend this season, delaying it until 2026 because of an imbalanced schedule that would have included five nonconference games. Notre Dame got moved, which dinged the Irish home slate that was already short on marquee matchups. Notre Dame will host Florida State (Nov. 9), Louisville (Sept. 28) and Virginia (Nov. 16) from the ACC. The Irish will also host new ACC member Stanford (Oct. 12), plus Miami (OH) (Sept. 21) and Northern Illinois (Sept. 7).
While that gives Notre Dame two Top 25 opponents from last season, it’s hardly the marquee slate of last year that included Ohio State and USC coming to South Bend.
Miami’s decision to delay its trip to Notre Dame put the Irish in a difficult spot, searching for a one-off opponent at a time when few were available.
| Date | Opponent | Location |
|---|---|---|
|
Aug. 31 |
Away |
|
|
Sept. 7 |
Home |
|
|
Sept. 14 |
Away |
|
|
Sept. 21 |
Home |
|
|
Sept. 28 |
Home |
|
|
Oct. 12 |
Home |
|
|
Oct. 19 |
Atlanta (Mercedes-Benz Stadium) |
|
|
Oct. 26 |
East Rutherford, N.J. (MetLife Stadium) |
|
|
Nov. 9 |
Home |
|
|
Nov. 16 |
Home |
|
|
Nov. 23 |
New York (Yankee Stadium) |
|
|
Nov. 30 |
Away |
Does this impact Notre Dame’s shot at the 12-team CFP?
It shouldn’t. But with all the uncertainty around how the 12-team College Football Playoff will actually unfold, it’s hard to know for sure.
In theory, Notre Dame can play its way into the new CFP with an 11-1 or 10-2 season based on past precedents. And the Irish are likely to be favored (or close to it) in every game. Notre Dame opened as an early 1.5-point underdog at Texas A&M in Week 1, but the Irish would be certain favorites in every other game short of the finale at USC. Will Notre Dame be punished for an underwhelming schedule if it loses once? Probably not. Twice? That’s a better question.
After outgoing athletic director Jack Swarbrick helped designed the new CFP model, Notre Dame will be desperate to host a first-round playoff game, with the Irish ineligible for a bye into the quarterfinals.
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(Photo from the 2010 Notre Dame-Army game: Nick Laham / Getty Images)
