Indiana-Notre Dame Weather Forecast: Cold Night Expected For College Football Playoff Game

Temperatures are expected to be in the 20s. Snow is not in the forecast presently, but lake effect snow is always possible in South Bend.

Heavy snow falls in the third quarter of the game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Boston College Eagles at Notre Dame Stadium on Nov. 19, 2022. / Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Among many other things, one of the new things the College Football Playoff brings to the postseason is December weather at campus sites.

For over 100 years, the rhythms of the sport have turned to warmer climes during the bowl postseason. Part of the reward of making the postseason was a trip to sunny or warm Pasadena, New Orleans, Miami or Dallas for the traditional big four bowls: the Rose, Sugar, Orange and Cotton Bowls. The Arizona-based Fiesta Bowl has been in on the act as a "big" bowl since the 1990s.

Now? With campus sites used in the first round, cold weather playoff games are a reality. This is more like the NFL where December and January weather often has a profound effect on the games.

Indiana will get a taste of this at 8 p.m. ET on Friday when it travels north to play Notre Dame in a College Football Playoff first round contest.

Indiana is not completely insulated from playing cold weather games - the Hoosiers are a Big Ten team after all - but they're not that common. Indiana only played one game below freezing at kickoff this year - the Nov. 30 home game against Purdue when it was 28 degrees and snowing.

Notre Dame has not played in a game below freezing at all in 2024. Their last two games of the season were against Army in New York City and at Southern California.

That is very likely to change for the Fighting Irish on Friday. Temperatures and conditions will be very similar to what Indiana had in its final home game against Purdue.

South Bend is prone to snow flurries being that it's on the edge of the Lake Michigan snow belt. Prevailing west winds send the moisture off the lake in snow form about 50 miles inland.

It is possible that lake effect snow will play a role in Friday's game, but it's not currently in the forecast. If it does snow, it is not expected to be heavy.

Here's a look at the forecast for both the drive to South Bend and on Friday game day.

Thursday driving weather (from the south) - According to weather.com, the high temperature in South Bend will be 34 degrees on Thursday. A few flurries are in the forecast. More snow is in the forecast for Thursday evening, but less than an inch is predicted. Winds are expected to be 10 to 15 miles per hour from the south-southwest.

Further south, Kokomo has a forecast high of 36 with cloudy conditions. To the east, Fort Wayne has a predicted high of 34 and also cloudy. To the west, Gary has a forecast high of 35 degrees and cloudy skies. Indianapolis has a predicted high of 39 with cloudy conditions.

Friday morning and afternoon - The forecast high in South Bend will once again be 34 degrees. Variable snow showers are predicted with the wind shifting to a northerly direction.

Similar conditions are predicted for Kokomo, Fort Wayne, Gary and Indianapolis with early snow showers and high temperatures in the low 30s. No accumulation is expected over an inch.

Friday game night - No snow is in the forecast, but it is expected to be cloudy and it will be cold. Temperatures will drop into the 20s with an overnight low of 22 degrees. Winds are expected to be from the north at 10 miles per hour. That would translate to a wind chill factor between 8 and 14 degrees.

Related stories on Indiana football

• HOW DOES INDIANA STACK UP? How the Hoosiers stack up statistically against the rest of the College Football Playoff field. CLICK HERE.

• WHAT CIGNETTI SAID: What Indiana football coach Curt Cignetti said during his pre-Notre Dame press conference on Monday. CLICK HERE.

• FREEMAN HAS PRAISE FOR INDIANA: Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman was complimentary of what Indiana has accomplished this season. CLICK HERE.