No. 8 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Host Ball State Cardinals This Saturday
By: Tori Hartshorn Sep. 05, 2018
Coming off of its most-watched Notre Dame Football on NBCbroadcast in 13 years, NBC Sports presents the first-ever meeting between the No. 8 Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Ball State Cardinals at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Ind., this Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC.
The Fighting Irish jumped to No. 8 in the rankings this week following a 24-17 victory over the then-ranked No. 14 Michigan Wolverines in South Bend on Saturday night on NBC to open the 2018 campaign. QB Brandon Wimbush passed for 170 yards and a touchdown, and also rushed for 59 yards to lead the Fighting Irish to victory.
The Cardinals travel to South Bend this weekend following a 42-6 victory over Central Connecticut State at home in Muncie, Ind., in which the club amassed a school-record 652 total yards (336 pass, 316 rush). QB Riley Neal threw for two touchdowns in the win, snapping the team's nine-game losing streak. Saturday's game in South Bend marks the first-ever game between the two Indiana-based schools which are located roughly 150 miles from one another.
NBC Sports' Notre Dame football commentary team is led by Mike Tirico, who is in his second full season as the voice of Notre Dame Football on NBC. He's joined in the booth by Heisman Trophy winner Doug Flutie, who serves as lead analyst for Notre Dame Football on NBC, and sideline reporter Kathryn Tappen. Former NFL referee Terry McAulay, who recently joined NBC Sports following his recent retirement after 20 years as an on-field NFL game official, joins the booth in his first season as an on-air rules analyst.
Liam McHugh hosts studio coverage of Notre Dame Football on NBC, alongside former college and NFL quarterback Chris Simms (studio analyst). McHugh and Simms anchor pre-game, halftime, and post-game coverage on-site at Notre Dame Stadium this season.
NOTRE DAME-MICHIGAN ON NBC IS NETWORK'S MOST-WATCHED NOTRE DAME GAME IN 13 YEARS
NBC Sports' coverage of Saturday's primetime game featuring the No. 12 Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the No. 14 Michigan Wolverines on NBC, which the Fighting Irish won by a score of 24-17, produced a Total Audience Delivery average of 7.179 million viewers and set numerous viewership milestones, according to Fast National Data provided by Nielsen and Adobe Analytics:
- The game is the most-watched Notre Dame Football on NBC broadcast in 13 years, since the iconic "Bush Push" game vs. USC (10/15/05; 10.072 million);
- NBC's most-watched primetime Notre Dame game on record;
- NBC's most-watched Notre Dame season opener in 24 years, and the third most-watched season opener on record, behind 1994 and 1992, both of which were Notre Dame-Michigan games.
In addition, NBC won the night in primetime and was No. 1 in the advertiser-coveted Adult 18-49 demographic. Click here for more information.
2018 NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL ON NBC
| DATE | TIME (ET) | GAME | NETWORK |
| Saturday, September 8 | 3:30 p.m. | Notre Dame vs. Ball State | NBC |
| Saturday, September 15 | 2:30 p.m. | Notre Dame vs. Vanderbilt | NBC |
| Saturday, September 29 | 7:30 p.m. | Notre Dame vs. Stanford | NBC |
| Saturday, October 13 | 2:30 p.m. | Notre Dame vs. Pittsburgh | NBC |
| Saturday, November 10 | 7:30 p.m. | Notre Dame vs. Florida State | NBC |
| Saturday, November 17 | 2:30 p.m. | Notre Dame vs. Syracuse* | NBC |
*at Yankee Stadium
NBC SPORTS GOLD TO OFFER DIRECT-TO-CONSUMER LIVE STREAMING PRODUCT FOR INTERNATIONAL NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL FANS
NBC Sports Gold - NBC Sports Digital's direct-to-consumer live streaming product - is relaunching its international "Notre Dame Football Season Pass," giving fans in 13 international countries access to every Fighting Irish home game during the 2018 season. Powered by NBC Sports' Playmaker Media, the direct-to-consumer pass will offer fans abroad comprehensive coverage of seven Notre Dame football home games live and on-demand, available online, as well as on mobile devices and tablets.
NBC Sports Gold's "Notre Dame Football Season Pass" is available for purchase now for $49.99, and features all seven home games in the 2018 season. The pass is available in 13 countries: Austria, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and UK. USD or local currency pricing is available. "Notre Dame Football Season Pass" is not available to customers in the U.S. Click here for more information.
INSIDE THE IRISH ON NBCSPORTS.COM
NBCSports.com will continue its Notre Dame Football coverage through its popular Inside The Irish blog, as Notre Dame Football insider Douglas Farmer covers the Irish from all angles throughout the 2018 season.
NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL ON NBCSPORTS.COM AND THE NBC SPORTS APP
NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app - NBC Sports Group's live streaming platforms for desktops, mobile devices, tablets, and connected TVs - will provide extensive live streaming coverage of the 2018 Notre Dame Football on NBC season via "TV Everywhere," giving consumers additional value for their subscription service, and making high quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms.
NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app are powered by Playmaker Media and available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire.
Comments
Videos