More Night Games for Notre Dame Stadium? Breaking Down the Possibilities

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman says he'd be all for it

Notre Dame wide receiver Xavier Southall (80) runs off the field after winning a NCAA college football game 52-3 against Florida State at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024, in South Bend. / MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Despite playing a woeful Florida State team on Saturday, Notre Dame Stadium was rocking as it played host to its only true night game of the 2024 season.

The final was a 52-3 rout in Notre Dame's favor but the night was still electric as the Irish shined in front of a prime time audience on its home field.

Could more night games be coming to Notre Dame Stadium in the not-so-distant future?

Notre Dame Head Coach Marcus Freeman Says Yes

Nov 9, 2024; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman stands with his players for the Notre Dame Alma Mater after defeating the Florida State Seminoles at Notre Dame Stadium. / Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

Marcus Freeman found his team on the right side of Saturday's blowout as Notre Dame hunkers down for its November stretch run with its eyes set on the College Football Playoff.

On Monday, Freeman was asked about the overall environment of night games at Notre Dame Stadium.

"It was really a sight to see. It was a great environment and truly had an impact on the game."

Does the Notre Dame head coach want to see them scheduled more often in the future?

"It's a bit of a double-edged sword, as they say."

"If Pete (Bevacqua) wants to schedule more night games, I'm all for it."

Saturday's win got Notre Dame to 2-2 in home night games under Marcus Freeman, with an upset loss against Stanford in 2022 and a heartbreaker against Ohio State last year being the defeats.

Nick Shepkowski's Quick Take:

Jon Bon Jovi takes a selfie with the Notre Dame marching band during a NCAA college football game against Florida State at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024, in South Bend. / MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Notre Dame home night games have been a welcomed addition. While I was growing up going to games and then through college they were a distant memory. Since the NBC contract came into play in the early 90's, they were just something to see old pictures or video clips of.

I'm with Marcus Freeman in wanting more of them, but I don't want them to be done in overkill, either.

When Ohio State comes to town for an extremely rare regular season meeting like last year I'm all for it.

Even with Florida State being awful, I'm a big fan of this game being under the lights as the expectation was that the Seminoles would again be challenging for an ACC championship.

What I don't want is the night games being overexposed and take away from what makes them special.

Florida State, Ohio State and regularly putting USC at night make all of the sense. It's the times we've seen a rather mid North Carolina squad, and the Stanford rivalry game pushed to primetime that I don't love.

Furthermore, I was perfectly fine with the Louisville game being during the day this season and not forcing it into primetime, although had the Shamrock Series game against Army not gotten it, perhaps the Louisville game would have.

Next year Texas A&M and USC would be perfect to get the primetime treatment. It's if someone like Boise State or Syracuse got the night game push that would be too much for me.

Notre Dame Football's Home Night Game Results Since 2011:

Nov 5, 2022; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish running back Audric Estime (7) celebrates with fans on the field after defeating the Clemson Tigers at Notre Dame Stadium. / Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

Notre Dame brought back night home football games in 2011 and have had significant success with them since. Here are the results of the past 14 seasons when the Irish play host at night.

2011: 31-17 loss vs. USC
2012: 13-6 win vs. Michigan
2013: 14-10 win vs. USC
2014: 31-0 win vs. Michigan
2015: 38-3 win vs. Texas
2015: 41-31 win vs. USC
2016: 36-28 loss vs. Michigan State
2016: 17-10 loss vs. Stanford
2017: 20-19 loss vs. Georgia
2017: 49-14 win vs. USC
2018: 24-17 win vs. Michigan
2018: 38-17 win vs. Stanford
2019: 30-27 win vs. USC
2020: 42-26 win vs. Florida State
2020: 47-40 (2 OT) win vs. Clemson
2021: 31-16 win vs. USC
2021: 44-34 win vs. North Carolina
2022: 16-14 loss vs. Stanford
2022: 35-14 win vs. Clemson
2023: 17-14 loss vs. Ohio State
2023: 48-20 win vs. USC
2024: 52-3 win vs. Florida State

Notre Dame is 15-6 since restarting home night games.

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