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Notre Dame

Commentator team announced for Indiana vs. Notre Dame on ESPN/ABC

Singer headshotby: Mike Singer12/08/24MikeTSinger
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When Notre Dame hosts Indiana in the first round of the College Football Playoff on Dec. 20 at 8 p.m. ET, it will mark the first time a television network besides NBC has broadcasted a Fighting Irish home game since 1991.

And it’ll be the first time the Irish have faced the Hoosiers since that same year. Notre Dame legend Jerome Bettis Sr. was just 19 years old when the Irish got the 42-27 win in South Bend.

The game will be broadcasted on ABC/ESPN. Sean McDonough and Greg McElroy will be in the booth with Molly McGrath reporting from the sidelines. If Notre Dame is to advance past the Hoosiers, it’ll face Georgia Jan. 1 at 8:45 p.m. ET; the same broadcasting trio will also call that game on ESPN.

McDonough and McElroy were in the booth for Notre Dame’s 51-14 beatdown of Navy back on Oct. 26.

Notre Dame and Indiana are meeting for the 30th time, with Notre Dame owning a 23-5-1 record overall: 13-1-1 at home, 6-3 away and 4-1 at neutral sites. The Irish have not met Indiana in the postseason. 

2024 marks the third time Notre Dame has earned a spot in the College Football Playoff (2018, 2020). With the introduction of the 12-team College Football Playoff, Notre Dame is one of four programs to host the first-ever College Football Playoff games at home. 

More details on Notre Dame and Indiana

After losing to Northern Illinois on Sept. 7 and falling to 1-1, most left Notre Dame for dead. The Irish fell to 18th in the Associated Press Top 25, down from fifth after picking up a signature win at Texas A&M a week prior. But a 66-7 win over Purdue the next week got ND back on track, and the Irish never looked back from there.

In 10 consecutive win-or-go-home games, Freeman engineered victories over Purdue, Miami (Ohio), Louisville, Stanford, Georgia Tech, Navy, Florida State, Virginia, Army and USC. Most of ND’s wins came in blowout fashion, as the Irish impressed the committee enough to largely forgive the NIU loss.

The Irish traveled to USC in Week 14 and beat the Trojans 49-35, effectively clinching a spot in the playoff and a first-round home game.

The Hoosiers, led by first-year head coach Curt Cignetti, were picked near the bottom of the Big Ten. Cignetti engineered one of college football’s greatest turnarounds, going from 3-9 to 11-1 with one of college football’s top point differentials.

The Hoosiers only lost to No. 9 Ohio State.

Full 12-team College Football Playoff field

  1. Oregon
  2. Georgia
  3. Boise State
  4. Arizona State
  5. Texas
  6. Penn State
  7. Notre Dame
  8. Ohio State
  9. Tennessee
  10. Indiana
  11. SMU
  12. Clemson

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