When ESPN’s College GameDay sets up shop on the North Shore of the Allegheny River outside Acrisure Stadium on Saturday morning, it will be Pittsburgh’s first time hosting the preeminent tailgate show since September 2005. The Panthers’ visitor that day: also the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame.
Despite appearing on the show 41 times, including hosting the first-ever on-site taping of the program, Notre Dame has only hosted College GameDay from Library Lawn 12 times. With its massive brand and exclusive television partnership with NBC, any Irish road game becomes the marquee contest on the opponent’s slate, as well as a prime opportunity for ESPN to take advantage of Notre Dame’s following.
Whether it’s Pittsburgh on Saturday, Riley Leonard’s Duke Blue Devils in 2023 or even top-ranked USC back in 2004, it doesn’t matter how good the Irish opponent is, the attention will follow. With Notre Dame’s first appearance on the show this season, let’s take a look at how the Irish have performed in the role of spoiler.
Although the 2024 Irish hosted Nick Saban, Pat McAfee and the rest of the GameDay crew for the College Football Playoff First Round matchup with Indiana, their lone regular-season appearance came in Week One in College Station, Texas. Opening up year three of the Marcus Freeman era, the Irish stormed into Kyle Field, quieting Aggie fans en route to a critical 23-13 win to build momentum for their national runner-up campaign.
Prior to that, Notre Dame’s most recent road appearance on GameDay also resulted in a win over another Mike Elko-led team, with the Irish topping Duke in September 2023. Just one week after hosting the show in South Bend for a marquee battle with Ohio State (which Notre Dame lost), ESPN followed the Irish to Durham, North Carolina for Duke’s maiden appearance.
Notre Dame also opened Freeman’s tenure as the visitors for the show, with College GameDay planting down in Columbus, Ohio, for a top-five battle to jumpstart the 2022 season. The Buckeyes got the better of the Irish that day, as they have in each of the last three meetings, but Ohio State is also one of only five schools to appear on the program more than Notre Dame.
The show has also made a habit of traveling to neutral-site contests alongside the Blue and Gold. Alongside national championship games in 2012 and 2024, the Irish were also the marquee matchup for last year’s Orange Bowl with Penn State, 2021’s Shamrock Series against Wisconsin at Soldier Field and the 2020 ACC Championship Game in Charlotte. With all the recent discourse surrounding Notre Dame’s independence, it is fitting that in its lone season in a conference, the Irish reached the championship game and were featured on College GameDay.
Notre Dame’s national draw hasn’t been limited to meetings with up-and-coming programs, however. Perennial powerhouses Georgia and Miami hosted Notre Dame for College GameDay in 2019 and 2017, respectively, and that aforementioned battle with No. 1 USC in 2004 came while the Irish were 6-4 and unranked.
Some other smaller programs that needed Notre Dame’s presence to lure GameDay to their campus (or historical site) include Temple at Philadelphia’s Independence Hall in 2015, Georgia Tech in 2006 and Air Force in 2002.
All told, Notre Dame sits just under .500 with a 19-21 mark in its first 40 appearances on College GameDay. With the show returning to the Steel City for the first time since 2005, when the Irish knocked off another talented Panther squad, Notre Dame has an opportunity to remind the college football world of its brand power and widespread fanbase, while also securing its spot in the College Football Playoff.
