Nov. 11, 2014
DATE
– Saturday, Nov. 15, 2014
TIME
– 3:39 p.m. EST
SITE (CAPACITY)
– Notre Dame Stadium (80,795); Notre Dame, Indiana
TELEVISION
– NBC national telecast with Dan Hicks (play by play), Mike Mayock (analysis), Kathryn Tappen (sideline), Doug Flutie (sideline), Rob Hyland (producer) and Pierre Moossa (director).
– NBC Sports Network will also have live pre-game and post-game shows featuring Liam McHugh (host), Flutie (analyst) and Hines Ward (analyst).
RADIO
– IMG College Sports is the exclusive national rights holder for Irish football radio broadcasts. IMG College manages, produces and syndicates the Irish national football radio network. Notre Dame games are broadcast on up to 117 affiliates by Don Criqui (play by play), former Irish great Allen Pinkett (analysis) and Jeff Jeffers (sideline). This broadcast can be heard live on SiriusXM Satellite Radio (channel 129).
– The broadcast will be preceded by a one hour pre-game show hosted by Tony Castricone with Criqui, Pinkett and interviews conducted by Jack Nolan.
– All games can be heard in South Bend on News & Sports Radio 96.1 FM & 960 AM and Sunny 101.5 FM.
TICKETS
– Saturday will be the 242nd straight sellout at Notre Dame Stadium. Every Irish home game beginning with the final two home games in 1964 has been a sellout except one – a 1973 Thanksgiving Day game vs. Air Force that was moved for television. Notre Dame has played in front of sellouts in 290 of its last 291 home games.
– Notre Dame has played in front of sellout crowds in 272 of its previous 319 games (.853) overall. The Irish have played before 643 sellouts in 920 total games (.699) since 1930.
WEB SITES, SOCIAL MEDIA
– Notre Dame (UND.com…@NDFootball), Northwestern (NUSports.com…@NUFBFamily)
POLLS
– Notre Dame is ranked No. 15 in the Associated Press poll and No. 16 in the Amway Coaches’ poll. Northwestern did not receive votes in either poll.
SERIES INFO
– Notre Dame leads the series, 37-8-2, including a 16-4 mark at home.
– Although meeting for the first time since 1995, Northwestern is Notre Dame’s seventh-most frequently played opponent. The Wildcats face the Irish for the 48th time on Saturday.
– For more information on the series, turn to pages 2-4.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
– Notre Dame returns to campus to conclude a gap of 35 days between home games. It matches the longest period between home games in school history, a gap last seen in 1987.
COUNTDOWN TO KICKOFF
12 … Notre Dame’s defense has recorded at least one interception in each of the last 12 games. (Page 21)
11 … The Irish rank 11th nationally with 13 interceptions this year. Senior CB Matthias Farley and sophomore CB Cole Luke share the team lead with three. (Page 21)
10 … Sophomore WR Will Fuller has caught 10 TD passes this year, tying for fourth best in the nation. (Page 18)
9 … Senior QB Everett Golson ranks ninth in the nation in total offense, averaging 335.3 yards per game. (Page 17)
8 … Eight different Notre Dame players have caught a TD pass in 2014. It is the most since 1996 when nine different Irish players caught at least one TD pass. (Page 18)
7 … Although the teams haven’t met in 19 years, Northwestern is Notre Dame’s seventh-most played opponent. This is the 48th all-time meeting. (Page 3)
6 … Notre Dame is 6-0 at Notre Dame Stadium in the month of November under head coach Brian Kelly’s watch. (Page 11)
5 … Notre Dame returns home for its fifth home game of the 2014 season and its first in five weeks. The Irish have won seven in a row at Notre Dame Stadium and 17 of their last 18. (Page 5)
4 … Senior QB Everett Golson is responsible for 188 points this year, ranking fourth in the nation behind only Marcus Mariota of Oregon, J.T. Barrett of Ohio State and Washington State’s Connor Halliday. (Page 17)
3 … Notre Dame is 7-2 on the year, the third consecutive season in which the Irish have started 7-2 or better. Notre Dame hadn’t strung together three consecutive 7-2 or better starts since a run of seven straight from 1987-93 under head coach Lou Holtz. (Page 6)
2 … Senior QB Everett Golson and sophomore LB Jaylon Smith are both semifinalists for two major awards. Golson is in the running for the Maxwell and Davey O’Brien awards while Smith is a viable candidate for both the Bednarik and Butkus awards. (Pages 6-7)
1 … With one more win, Brian Kelly will become the first coach to begin his Notre Dame career with five-straight eight-win seasons. (Page 6)
0 … The Irish defense has not allowed any 80-plus yard scoring drives this year. Notre Dame’s offense has produced 10. (Page 20)