The Notre Dame Fighting Irish experienced a rollercoaster season in 2024. They started the year with a big away win over the No. 20 Texas A&M Aggies, but then lost to Northern Illinois as 28.5-point favorites, according to ESPN BET. Many believed that the team’s Week 2 setback would jeopardize its playoff chances, but this was not the case.
Notre Dame earned a spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff and advanced to the title game after winning 13 straight, but fell to Ohio State. While the outcome was not what they had hoped for at the conclusion of the year, there is hope that they can build on their success and make another run in 2025.
However, while there was a lot of excitement and optimism surrounding the program, it was unclear who all of their opponents would be. That was at least until earlier this week. Stanford announced earlier this week, and Notre Dame confirmed on Friday, that the two teams will play off in the last week of the regular season.
Although the two clubs had played every season since 1997, with the exception of the truncated 2020 season, they had not publicly announced plans to play again after this season. The rivalry goes back even longer, since the two programs first competed for the “Legends Trophy” in 1989 and began playing each other in the 1920s.
The Fighting Irish now lead the series 24-14 after 38 meetings. Notre Dame has won five of the last six encounters, with an average margin of victory of nearly 30 points per game. The next season’s game will be played on November 29, with the time and network still to be determined.
