Sept. 9, 2015
TIME, DATE AND PLACE
* 3:30 p.m. EDT; Saturday, Sept. 12, 2015
* Scott Stadium (61,500); Charlottesville, Virginia
TELEVISION
* ABC national telecast with Mike Patrick (play-by-play), Ed Cunningham (analysis), Dr. Jerry Punch (sideline) and Anthony Holeman (producer).
* The Irish posted a 1-2 record on ABC last year, defeating Syracuse but losing to Florida State and Arizona State.
RADIO
* IMG College Sports is the exclusive national rights-holder for Irish football radio broadcasts. Notre Dame games will be broadcast to 117 affiliates by Don Criqui (play-by-play), 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. It will be followed by a national post-game show hosted by Castricone, Criqui and Pinkett.
* All games can be heard in South Bend on WSBT 96.1 FM & 960 AM, and Sunny 101.5 FM.
TICKETS
* Virginia has sold out all non-season tickets for Saturday’s game which will likely be played before a sellout crowd.
* Notre Dame has played in front of sellout crowds in 275 of its previous 324 games (.849) overall. Notre Dame has played before 646 sellouts in 925 total games (.698) since 1930. The Irish have sold out 292 of their last 293 home games dating back to 1964.
SERIES INFO
* Notre Dame leads the series with Virginia, 1-0.
* The teams faced off at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on Aug. 31, 1989, with the Irish claiming a 36-13 victory in Kickoff Classic VII.
THE COACHES
* Notre Dame: Brian Kelly, 46-20 at Notre Dame (6th year), 217-77-2 overall (25th year), 0-0 vs. UVa
* Virginia: Mike London, 23-39 at Virginia (6th year), 47-44 overall (8th year), 0-0 vs. Notre Dame
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
* The Irish hit the road for the first time in 2015, making the program’s first-ever trip to the commonwealth of Virginia. The old dominion state will be the 36th to play host to a Notre Dame football game.
COUNTDOWN TO KICKOFF
14 Notre Dame has won 12 of its last 14 games played in the month of September (Page 7)
13 Notre Dame is 38-13 since Sept. 17, 2011, the 14th-best record nationally. (Page 7)
12 Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly is one of 12 “Power 5” coaches at contract bowl eligible schools who has faced at least 10 AP-ranked teams on his current job and has a record of .500 or better in those games. (Page 2)
11 Prior to the Texas game it had been 11 seasons since Notre Dame had produced two touchdown drives of at least 90 yards in the same game. (Page 9)
10 Notre Dame played 10 freshmen in its season-opening win over Texas. (Page 9)
9 Junior LB Jaylon Smith (number nine in your program) made plays all over the field in an impressive 2015 debut, leading the Irish with seven tackles along with a sack and a pass pressure against Texas. (Page 13)
8 Kelly is eighth in the nation among active FBS coaches with his .736 career winning percentage. (Page 3)
7 Notre Dame has seven players on the Lombardi Award’s watch list (DL Sheldon Day, OG Steve Elmer, DL Jarron Jones, C Nick Martin, LB Joe Schmidt, Smith and OT Ronnie Stanley). (Page 5)
6 Virginia is the first of six ACC schools the Irish will face in 2015. It is that most schools from any single conference that Notre Dame has ever faced in one year. (Page 4)
5 The Irish elected five captains for the 2015 season (Day, Matthias Farley, Martin, Schmidt and Smith), the team’s most since also having five in 2007. (Page 9)
4 Junior WR Will Fuller is tied for fourth in the nation after week one with his two TD catches. (Page 10)
3 Following its win over Texas, Notre Dame has now played three consecutive Opening Day games without committing a turnover. The span covers 219:02 worth of game time dating back to 2012. (Page 7)
2 Zaire’s .864 completion percentage against Texas ranked second in school history for a single game. (Page 12)
1 Freshman RB Josh Adams played his first collegiate game against Texas and scored a pair of TDs, including a 14-yard run to paydirt on his first collegiate play. (Page 9)
0 Notre Dame has never played a game in the commonwealth of Virginia before. It will become the 36th state which has played host to an Irish football game. (Page 5)