Under The Lights USC vs ND

Most of us know Notre Dame for its vintage 3:30PM EST kick-offs, one that I believe is still provides one of the best afternoon home field advantages in college football. But it’s what happens under the lights that people remember.

In fact, Notre Dame has only hosted a handful of night games in their storied history between 1982 and 2010. That all changed in 2011 with Notre Dame’s match up against USC. This was the first night game since 1990 at Notre Dame stadium and it ended in favor of the Trojans.

Let There Be Light!

Notre Dame upgraded the stadium to include permanent lighting in 1997. However, prior to this they would have temporary light fixtures suspend from cranes outside the stadium. At least this was the scene on September 18, 1982 – 20^th ranked Notre Dame defeated 10^th ranked Michigan 23-17.

The Irish would proceed to host five more night games from 1982-1990.

Based on my conversations with retired ushers and fans old enough to remember – heavy alcohol consumption may have played a role in the cancellation of night games.

From my own experience, just because the game starts later, does not mean you start drinking later.

Irish Under The Lights

Since 2011, however, Notre Dame has hosted at least one home night game and that streak continues against USC in the 2019 season. Notre Dame has a home record of 9-4 in these prime time home games.

The losses were 2011 – USC, 2016 – Stanford, 2016 – Michigan State, 2017 – Georgia.

If you expand the field to include the prime time record with neutral sites, such as the Shamrock Series, the record improves to 16-4.

Lights, Camera, Action

As I kept digging, I was able to get a clearer picture on prime time Irish. The Irish, which “Couch-Coaches” call irrelevant, have been featured in 46 regular season prime time games since 2011.

For reference, this was any regular season game with a 7:30PM ET start, or later.

Their record in these games is 30-16. Of these losses, 11 were to AP TOP 25. With a win percentage of 65.22% prime time, Brian Kelly and the Fighting Irish certainly leave some for improvement but it is respectable nonetheless.

Golden Dome versus Hollywood

Notre Dame has another golden opportunity in prime time this weekend against Southern California’s Trojan. As if USC needed another headline beyond bribery, murder and NCAA sanctions, senior wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr.has decided to run his mouth.

Michael Pittman Jr. was asked what advice he gave to younger players vs. Notre Dame: “I told them to embrace the suck,” he said. “It’s going to be cold. But it’ll be fun when we’re running up the score.”

— Ryan Kartje (@Ryan_Kartje) October 9, 2019

Well, Mr. Pittman – I sure hope you are able to back it up. Though the numbers show since 2016 when you joined USC, you have only amassed seven catches for 91 yards with no touchdowns against Notre Dame.

May I also draw your attention to your fumble against Notre Dame last season, which occurred in Notre Dame territory. Albeit indirectly, a fumble that cost your team the chance to upset the Irish. Let your play do the talking, and don’t suck.