FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, October 15th, 2015

NBC SPORTS’ “BY THE NUMBERS”: USC – NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL

No. 14 Notre Dame Hosts USC in Primetime Saturday Night at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC

Fighting Irish Take on Trojans in College Football’s Greatest Intersectional Rivalry

Stamford, Conn – Oct. 15 2015 – No. 14 Notre Dame and USC will continue college football’s greatest intersectional rivalry this Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC, when the Fighting Irish host the Trojans in a primetime matchup at Notre Dame Stadium. Coverage of USC – Notre Dame begins at 7 p.m. ET with Countdown to Kickoff, NBCSN’s live pre-game show.

NBC Sports’ By The Numbers for USC – Notre Dame:

1 Heisman Trophy winners in the Notre Dame Football on NBC broadcast booth on Saturday night (Doug Flutie – 1984).
2 Number of Jeweled Shillelagh Trophies. The trophy is awarded to the winner of the annual matchup. The original trophy was retired in 1995, upon which a second iteration was introduced.
5 Number of times the matchup between the two teams has ended in a tie.
6 NBC’s on-air team covering the game, featuring Dan Hicks (play-by-play), Doug Flutie (analyst), and Kathryn Tappen (sideline reporter). Liam McHugh (host), Hines Ward (analyst) and Jonathan Vilma (analyst) will manage pre-game, halftime, and postgame coverage.
10 Saturday night’s broadcast will be the 10th anniversary of the “Bush Push” game between the two teams, in which USC QB Matt Leinart orchestrated a comeback in the final seconds of the fourth quarter and scored the game-winning touchdown…. with a little help from USC RB Reggie Bush.
11 Longest winning streak of the rivalry, held by Notre Dame from 1983-1993.
12 USC – Notre Dame games broadcast on NBC since NBC Sports became the exclusive home of Notre Dame Football home games in 1991.
13 Number of Heisman Trophy winners from both schools.
18 Cameras NBC Sports will use on Saturday night to cover the game.
21 Approximate number of hours between the time Dan Hicks signs off from Saturday night’s USC – Notre Dame broadcast from Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Ind., and Al Michaels welcomes viewers to NBC’s Sunday Night Football broadcast between the Patriots and Colts from Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind.
22 Combined number of National Championships USC and Notre Dame football teams have won.
25 Consecutive years NBC has been the television home of Notre Dame Football home games.
36 Times USC has won the annual matchup.
45 Times Notre Dame has won the annual matchup.
87 Saturday night’s game will be the 87th all-time meeting between the two storied college football programs.
1926 Year USC and Notre Dame played for the first time.
1952 Year the Jeweled Shillelagh Trophy was introduced into the rivalry.