FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, November 11th, 2015

NO. 4 NOTRE DAME HOSTS WAKE FOREST SATURDAY AT 3:30 P.M. ET ON NBC

Fighting Irish Look to Continue Their Run to College Football Playoff

Dan Hicks, Doug Flutie and Kathryn Tappen to Call Matchup

Notre Dame Pre-Game Show Countdown To Kickoff Begins at 3 p.m. ET Live on NBC

Liam McHugh, Hines Ward and Jonathan Vilma Manage Pre-Game and Halftime Coverage On-Site at Notre Dame Stadium

Countdown To Kickoff to Include Jimmy Roberts Feature on Former Notre Dame Safety Tom Zbikowski

STAMFORD, Conn. – November 11, 2015 – The No. 4 Notre Dame Fighting Irish look to continue their run to the College Football Playoff when they host the Wake Forest Demon Deacons this Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC. Coverage of Wake Forest – Notre Dame begins at 3 p.m. ET with Countdown to Kickoff, NBC’s live pre-game show.

Notre Dame QB DeShone Kizer and the Fighting Irish (8-1) enter Saturday’s game ranked No. 4 in the College Football Playoff rankings, following a 42-30 win against Pittsburgh. Kizer posted a career-best 221.18 efficiency rating in the game against the Panthers, completing 19 of 26 passes for 262 yards and five touchdowns. Coming off a bye week, Wake Forest QB John Wolford and the Demon Deacons (3-6) visit South Bend, Ind., after a 20-19 loss against Louisville two weeks ago.

Saturday’s meeting marks the third time the two programs will face each other. Notre Dame defeated Wake Forest in both previous matchups, outscoring the Demon Deacons 62-17, including a 38-0 shutout in the most recent meeting back in 2012. With a win on Saturday, the Fighting Irish will finish the season undefeated and untied at Notre Dame Stadium for the 26th time in school history.

Dan Hicks (@DanHicksNBC) calls Saturday’s game alongside 1984 Heisman Trophy Winner and analyst Doug Flutie (@DougFlutie), and sideline reporter Kathryn Tappen (@KathrynTappen).

Liam McHugh (@liam_mchugh) will host Countdown to Kickoff at 3 p.m. ET on NBC, on-site at Notre Dame Stadium. McHugh will be joined by two-time Super Bowl Champion and former University of Georgia QB/WR Hines Ward (@mvp86hinesward), and Super Bowl Champion, BCS National Champion and former University of Miami LB Jonathan Vilma (@JonVilma51). McHugh, Ward and Vilma will also manage halftime duties on NBC.

Saturday’s edition of Countdown to Kickoff will feature an exclusive interview with Jimmy Roberts and former Notre Dame and NFL safety Tom Zbikowski. Roberts speaks with Zbikowski about his playing career, battle with addiction, road to recovery and his current life as a Chicago firefighter.

NBC Sports Group’s coverage of Notre Dame Football is led by Emmy Award-winning producer Rob Hyland and Emmy Award-winning director Pierre Moossa.

Listed below is NBC Sports Group’s remaining coverage of the 2015 Notre Dame Football season.

REMAINING NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL GAMES ON NBC/NBCSN

DATE TIME OPPONENT LOCATION NETWORK
Sat., Nov. 14 3:30 p.m. Wake Forest South Bend, Ind. NBC
Sat., Nov. 21 7:30 p.m. Boston College Boston, Mass. NBCSN*

*Shamrock Series game from Fenway Park (All Times ET)

NBC SPORTS LIVE EXTRA ONLINE & APP

NBC Sports Live Extrathe NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets — will stream all Notre Dame Football home games.

For desktops, NBC Sports Live Extra can be accessed at NBCSports.com/liveextra. The NBC Sports Live Extra app for mobile devices and tablets is available at the App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, and on select Android handset and tablet devices within Google Play.

NBC Sports Live Extra online will feature a simulcast of the broadcast feed in full HD quality plus one additional online-only bonus camera. The video player will include picture-in-picture capability and full DVR functionality, allowing the user to pause the live video and even review plays in “slo-mo.”

Sideline reporter Kathryn Tappen will provide live in-game tweets from the sideline from @NDonNBC on Twitter. Additionally, fans can watch in-game highlights, live coverage of the Notre Dame and visiting teams’ bands at halftime, as well as live postgame footage that will include head coach Brian Kelly’s press conference.

NBCSPORTS.com

NBCSports.com will continue its Notre Dame Football coverage through its Notre Dame Central section. Notre Dame will also be featured within NBC Sports Talk with its popular Inside The Irish blog written by Notre Dame Football insider Keith Arnold.

COMCAST SPORTSNET CHICAGO

For the third straight year, Comcast SportsNet Chicago will continue its expanded coverage of Notre Dame Fighting Irish Football via its partnership with NBC Sports by providing additional content to help power NBCSports.com’s popular Notre Dame Central section (http://www.nbcsports.com/college-football/notre-dame-central). Comcast SportsNet Chicago’s Notre Dame Football “Insider” JJ Stankevitz (@JJStankevitz) from CSNChicago.com, will serve as the primary beat reporter in providing up-to-the-minute Fighting Irish news and analysis, columns, game previews/recaps, interviews and much more.

SAME DAY HOME GAME REPLAYS – Comcast SportsNet Chicago will provide a same day replay of every Notre Dame home game produced by NBC Sports (consult CSNChicago.com for exact air times).

HEAD COACH BRIAN KELLY’S WEEKLY PRESS CONFERENCE – CSNChicago.com will provide a live stream of Notre Dame Head Coach Brian Kelly’s weekly press conference, as he will address the prior weekend’s game, along with detailing his game plan against the team’s upcoming opponent. Coach Kelly’s weekly press conference, which will take place from Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Ind., will be live streamed every Tuesday throughout the season at 11 a.m. CT.

— NBC SPORTS GROUP —