Notre Dame’s all-time results on ‘ESPN College Gameday’

Notre Dame is no stranger to the big-time in terms of college football having won 11 national championships all-time, but their recent history isn’t bad either seeing as they haven’t won it all since 1988.  Despite not winning a title in 35 years, Notre Dame has been featured regularly on ESPN’s “College Gameday”.

So how has Notre Dame fared when they’ve been spotlighted by the show that first went on the road for “The Game of the Century” back in 1993?

Could you guess the only Notre Dame head coach to have a winning record when the Irish have been featured?

Here is how the Irish have fared in the previous 34 times they’ve been highlighted on Gameday:

Nov. 13, 1993: 2. Notre Dame vs. 1. Florida State

The first time ESPN took “College Gameday” on the road was for one of the biggest regular-season games in the history of Notre Dame Stadium as the Irish upset No. 1 Florida State, 31-24.

Sept, 10, 1994: 3. Notre Dame vs. 6. Michigan

Notre Dame played host to the first two road episodes of “College Gameday” as Ron Powlus made his Notre Dame Stadium debut in a heartbreaking, last-second 26-24 loss to Michigan.  The Irish would spiral from there.

Oct. 21, 1995: 17. Notre Dame vs. 5. USC

Notre Dame had their national championship hopes squashed by an upstart Northwestern team to open the season but six weeks later spoiled No. 5 USC’s title dreams as the Irish pasted Keyshawn Johnson and the Trojans, 38-10.

Sept, 28, 1996: 5. Notre Dame vs. 4. Ohio State

For the fourth straight year Notre Dame played host to “College Gameday” as No. 4 Ohio State got the best of No. 5 Notre Dame, 29-16.  This remains the most recent regular-season meeting between the Fighting Irish and Buckeyes.

Sept. 5, 1998: 22. Notre Dame vs. 5. Michigan

After not getting featured by “College Gameday” for all of 1997, the show opened the 1998 season with the defending co-national champion Michigan Wolverines and Tom Brady traveling to South Bend.  Autry Denson led the way for Notre Dame as the school’s eventual all-time leading rusher went off for over 160 yards and a pair of scores in the upset.

This would be Bob Davie’s first and only win on a game featured by “College Gameday”.

Sept. 4, 1999: 7. Michigan vs. 16. Notre Dame

The first time Notre Dame played on “College Gameday” in a road setting was in 1999 when Jarious Jackson had the No. 17 Irish thinking upset before dropping a heartbreaker to No. 7 Michigan, 26-22.  Notre Dame would drop their next two games as well before rallying and earning a second appearance on the show later that season.

Nov. 6, 1999: 4. Tennessee vs. 24. Notre Dame

After stumbling out of the gate to a 1-3 mark, Notre Dame rallied with thrilling comeback wins over Oklahoma and USC and were 5-3 when they headed to No. 4 Tennessee in early November.  Tennessee running back Travis Henry ran for 132 yards and a touchdown as Notre Dame wouldn’t win again in 1999, finishing 5-7.

Sept. 9, 2000: 24. Notre Dame vs. 1. Nebraska

After upsetting Texas A&M to open the year Notre Dame welcomed top-ranked Nebraska to Notre Dame Stadium as the “Sea of Red” took over the 80,000 seat stadium.  The Irish were gifted two special teams touchdowns by Julius Jones and Joey Getherall, but with a chance to possibly pull the upset late, Bob Davie instead chose to play for overtime where quarterback Eric Crouch would score the game-winning touchdown in Nebraska’s 27-24 victory.

Sept. 8, 2001: 5. Nebraska vs. 17. Notre Dame

After nearly pulling the upset a year earlier this night belonged entirely to the Huskers who swarmed the Irish all night, allowing Matt LoVecchio to complete just 11 of 24 pass attempts for 78 yards and an interception.

This would be Bob Davie’s final appearance on “College Gameday”.

Oct. 19, 2002: 18. Air Force vs. 7. Notre Dame

An unexpected battle of unbeatens took place in mid-October as No. 7 Notre Dame hit the road and behind a strong outing from Ryan Grant, stayed unbeaten, winning 21-14 in Colorado Springs.  The win earned a second-straight “College Gameday” appearance a week later for the Irish.

Oct. 26, 2002: 11. Florida State vs. 6. Notre Dame

The peak of the Tyrone Willingham era came with “College Gameday” in attendance as the upstart Irish struck quickly on a play-action pass from Carlyle Holiday to Arnaz Battle that set the tone for a Notre Dame upset.

Sadly, the wheels came off a week later as Notre Dame would lose at home to Boston College and things would never be the same under Willingham,

Sept. 13, 2003: 5. Michigan vs. 15. Notre Dame

It was the fourth time Notre Dame and Michigan were featured on “College Gameday” but this day belonged entirely to the Wolverines as they ran the Irish out of the Big House, 38-0.

Sept. 18, 2004: Michigan State vs. Notre Dame

After being upset to start the year at BYU, Notre Dame bounced back to beat top-10 Michigan a week later.  Hurricane Ivan was pounding the Gulf of Mexico which stopped ESPN’s plans to be at LSU vs. Auburn and instead the unranked Irish beating unranked Michigan State was featured.  This game will always be remembered for the strip and score by Tom Zbikowski.

Nov. 27, 2004: 1. USC vs. Notre Dame

Tyrone Willingham’s final game as Notre Dame’s head coach was featured more as a coronation for USC than anything late in 2004 as Reggie Bush and the top-ranked Trojans pasted the Irish, 41-10.

Willingham did go 3-2 on “College Gameday” during his time at Notre Dame, making him the only Fighting Irish head coach to have a winning record in such games.

“So there’s that.”

Sept. 3, 2005: 23. Pittsburgh vs. Notre Dame

Two former NFL coaches returned to their colleges as head coaches for the 2005 opener as the eyes of the nation were on Charlie Weis and Dave Wannstedt.

The Notre Dame offense had a coming-out party as Brady Quinn, Darius Walker, and Jeff Samardzija all had huge nights in what wound up a 42-21 Irish victory.

Oct. 15, 2005: 9. Notre Dame vs. 1. USC

One of the greatest college football games ever played occurred with “College Gameday” in attendance as the “Bush Push” would give No. 1 USC a last-second victory over No. 9 Notre Dame.  the loss proved to be the high point of Charlie Weis’s run as Notre Dame’s head coach as he earned a contract extension shortly after.

Sept. 2, 2006: Georgia Tech vs. 2. Notre Dame

No. 2 Notre Dame opened the season getting all they could handle from upstart Georgia Tech, but the Irish held on for a 14-10 victory in a game that proved to be a lot closer than anticipated.

Nov. 25, 2006: 2. USC vs. 6. Notre Dame

Instant classic this was not as No. 2 USC dominated No. 6 Notre Dame, 44-20.  It was the final regular-season game for Brady Quinn, Jeff Samardzija, and Darius Walker, all who never beat USC during their times at Notre Dame.

USC would fall the next week to UCLA, keeping Pete Carroll and the Trojans from a national championship appearance.

Sept. 10, 2011: Michigan vs. Notre Dame

Notre Dame, fresh off an embarrassing season-opening loss to South Florida was Michigan’s guest for the first night game at Michigan Stadium, and “College Gameday” was in attendance.  The highlight of the night for the Irish was the throwback uniforms as Notre Dame would drop this game in epically embarrassing fashion to Denard Robinson and the Wolverines.

Oct. 13, 2012: 7. Notre Dame vs. 17. Stanford

“College Gameday” picked a good one for their first trip back to Notre Dame in seven seasons as the Irish forced overtime late and an epic goalline stand kept the Irish unbeaten against a Stanford team who had their number in recent years.

Oct. 27, 2012: 8. Oklahoma vs. 5. Notre Dame

Surviving many close calls in 2012 had the experts thinking Notre Dame was in over their heads as they traveled to Oklahoma in late October but “College Gameday” was on hand to see the Irish exchange blows with the Sooners and overpower Oklahoma late in a 30-13 win that was a lot closer than the final score indicated.  The win was perhaps the biggest for Brian Kelly at Notre Dame.

Nov. 24, 2012: USC vs. 1. Notre Dame

“College Gameday” was there to witness No. 1 Notre Dame putting the stamp on a 12-0 regular season and clinch a national championship berth as they outlasted USC, 22-13 in what was the first perfect regular season for the Irish since 1988.

Jan. 7, 2013: 1. Notre Dame vs. 2. Alabama

Notre Dame made the BCS National Championship Game and played Alabama in January of 2013 and “College Gameday” was there.

Next.

Sept. 7, 2013: 17. Michigan vs. 13. Notre Dame

Notre Dame’s defense had no answer for Michigan early in 2013 as the Wolverines put up 41 points and cruised to a 41-30 victory that they were in control of the majority of the evening.

Oct. 18, 2014: 2. Florida State vs. 5. Notre Dame

Notre Dame played a nearly perfect game against the undefeated, defending national champions but a questionable (ridiculous) offensive pass interference call went against the Irish on what would have been the game-winning touchdown pass.  Instead, Everett Golson’s desperation heave fell incomplete and Florida State survived.

Oct. 3, 2015: 12. Clemson vs. 6. Notre Dame

“College Gameday” was on hand for a thriller played in an incredible rainstorm.  After a slow start, Notre Dame came roaring back against Deshaun Watson and Clemson but Deshone Kizer was stopped on a quarterback keeper on a two-point conversion attempt that would have sent the game to overtime.

Oct. 31, 2015: 21. Temple vs. 9. Notre Dame

Halloween 2015 was spent by Notre Dame appearing on “College Gameday” in the morning before taking on an impressive Temple squad who gave the Irish everything they could handle.  Will Fuller helped the Irish prevail however as the 24-20 win kept Notre Dame’s College Football Playoff hopes alive.

Nov. 11, 2017: 7. Miami vs. 3. Notre Dame

Notre Dame entered the night with College Football Playoff aspirations as they appeared headed that way but a missed throw by Brandon Wimbush that would have been an early touchdown and lead for the Irish resulted in a…pause…hurricane-like force by Miami as the Canes dominated the night in 41-8 fashion.

Sept. 1, 2018: 12. Notre Dame vs. 14. Michigan

The seventh and most recent Notre Dame-Michigan bout to be featured on “College Gameday” came in 2018 as the Irish opened the season with an incredible defensive performance against the Wolverines in a 24-17 win that never felt that close.  The win set the stage for what would end up a 12-0 regular season for Notre Dame and resulted in their first-ever College Football Playoff appearance.

Notre Dame has won just two of those seven meetings with Michigan that have been highlighted by “College Gameday”.

Sept. 21, 2019: 3. Georgia vs. 7. Notre Dame

Despite being a two-touchdown underdog, No. 7 Notre Dame had the ball with a chance to win late in their first-ever trip to the University of Georgia.  Ian Book and the Irish couldn’t finish the job as the Bulldogs escaped with a narrow 23-17 victory.

Nov. 7, 2020: 4. Notre Dame vs. 1. Clemson

In perhaps the best college football game of the 2020 season, Notre Dame upset No. 1 Clemson who was playing without star quarterback Trevor Lawrence, 47-40 in double-overtime.

Notre Dame trailed by seven late but Ian Book found Avery Davis for a huge gain to set the Irish up inside the five with seconds to play.  Book would find Davis a few short plays later for the game-tying touchdown before Notre Dame’s defensive line would take over the second overtime to secure the upset.

Dec. 19, 2021: 2. Notre Dame vs. 3. Clemson

Whoever first claimed that sequels aren’t as good as originals knew what they were talking about as Notre Dame controlled the first quarter of the 2020 ACC Championship against Clemson, but a missed chipshot field goal and a couple of misthrows quickly derailed the chances of sweeping the Tigers.

Hopefully, Notre Dame never plays in another conference championship game again.

Sept. 25, 2021: No. 12 Notre Dame vs. No. 18 Wisconsin

Chris Tyree’s fourth quarter kickoff return for a touchdown turned the tide of the contest as the Irish erupted in the final frame en route to a 41-13 victory.

Sept. 5, 2022: No. 5 Notre Dame at No. 2 Ohio State

Notre Dame’s defense held Ohio State in check most of the night but the offense just couldn’t get things going in the 21-10 opening season loss to the 2022 year.

2023?

Will Notre Dame be featured on the show during the 2023 season?  Home tilts against Ohio State and USC are obvious contenders as is the trip to Clemson to start November.  Also, be on the lookout for what happens with Pitt.  A favorable schedule for the Panthers could have them at 7-0 and a threat to the College Football Playoff when they’re due in South Bend on October 28.

Story originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire