FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, November 7th, 2018

UNDEFEATED NO. 3 NOTRE DAME FIGHTING IRISH HOST FLORIDA STATE SEMINOLES THIS SATURDAY NIGHT AT 7:30 P.M. ET ON NBC

Fighting Irish (9-0) Look to Maintain College Football Playoff Aspirations; Pre-Game Coverage Begins at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN with Countdown to Kickoff

Mike Tirico, Doug Flutie, Kathryn Tappen and Terry McAulay to Call Matchup; Liam McHugh and Chris Simms Host Studio Coverage On-Site in South Bend

Bob Costas and NBC Sports Look Back at 25th Anniversary of 1993 “Game of the Century” – No. 1 Florida State vs. No. 2 Notre Dame

Onward Notre Dame Examines 1993 “Game of the Century” – Debuts Late Friday at 12 a.m. ET on NBCSN, Airs Saturday at 6:30 p.m. ET Before Countdown to Kickoff

VIDEO: Watch the Iconic Open and Final Play from 1993 Florida State-Notre Dame “Game of the Century”

Through Five Games, 2018 Notre Dame Football on NBC Viewership Up 36% vs. 2017, Best in Five Years

STAMFORD, Conn. – November 7, 2018 – Nearly 25 years to the day of the No. 1 vs. No. 2 “Game of the Century” between Florida State and Notre Dame, QB Ian Book and the No. 3 Fighting Irish (9-0) aim to maintain their undefeated season and College Football Playoff aspirations with a win against the Florida State Seminoles (4-5) at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Ind., this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC. Pre-game coverage on Saturday starts at 7 p.m. ET with Countdown to Kickoff on NBCSN.

The Fighting Irish enter Saturday’s matchup with Florida State following a 31-21 win on the road against Northwestern to remain undefeated in 2018. Ian Book led Notre Dame’s charge in the second half, connecting on 15-of-19 throws for 236 yards in the final two quarters and capping the win with a 23-yard touchdown run with 2:45 remaining in the game. Florida State is coming off a 47-28 loss to N.C. State, in which sophomore QB James Blackman passed for 421 yards and four touchdowns in defeat.

This is just the ninth meeting all-time between Notre Dame and Florida State. The Seminoles lead the all-time series (6-2), including a 31-27 win in their most recent clash in 2014 in Tallahassee.

NBC Sports’ Notre Dame football commentary team is led by Mike Tirico, who is in his second full season as the voice of Notre Dame Football on NBC. He’s joined in the booth by Heisman Trophy winner Doug Flutie (analyst), sideline reporter Kathryn Tappen, and on-air rules analyst Terry McAulay. Liam McHugh will host pre-game, halftime and post-game coverage alongside former college and NFL quarterback Chris Simms (studio analyst).

BOB COSTAS AND NBC SPORTS LOOK BACK AT 25TH ANNIVERSARY OF 1993 GAME OF THE CENTURY – NO. 1 FLORIDA STATE VS. NO. 2 NOTRE DAME

Saturday night’s primetime clash on NBC between Notre Dame and Florida State will take place almost exactly 25 years to the day after the iconic “Game of the Century” that featured No. 1 Florida State vs. No. 2 Notre Dame on Nov. 13, 1993, on NBC.

The game lived up to the hype, as the Fighting Irish defense stopped eventual Heisman Trophy winner QB Charlie Ward on the game’s final play to give Notre Dame the 31-24 victory. The game produced a 16.0 rating and averaged more than 22 million viewers, ranking as the highest-rated regular-season college football game on record.

Bob Costas hosted coverage on-site from South Bend and voiced the memorable three-minute tease which opened the broadcast on NBC. Charlie Jones and Todd Christensen called the action. Click here to watch the tease and the final play of the 1993 Florida State-Notre Dame “Game of the Century.”

Saturday’s coverage will include an essay by Sports Illustrated’s Tim Layden on the significance of the 1993 Florida State-Notre Dame “Game of the Century.” NBC Sports will also debut a new 30-minute episode of Onward Notre Dame looking back at the 25th anniversary of FSU-ND late Friday at 12 a.m. ET on NBCSN, and will air an encore presentation Saturday at 6:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN, leading into pre-game coverage from South Bend. The program will explore the 1993 season for the Fighting Irish, and will feature interviews with Bob Costas, Charlie Ward, and Shawn Wooden.

Following are quotes from Costas on his recollection of that game:

Costas on ND-FSU in 1993: “This game, along with the 1995 Nebraska-Miami Orange Bowl, would rank as the two most memorable college football games I’ve been involved in. The quality and drama of the game … it started in the late afternoon so you get that late afternoon autumn feel, when late afternoon turns to dusk, and there’s something dramatic about how that looks and feels.”

Costas on the No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup: “Florida State was a perpetual National Championship contender. Notre Dame had contended for and won a National Championship in the late ‘80’s (1988) under Lou Holtz. The program had really asserted itself. Talking about waking up the echoes, the echoes were awakened in South Bend.”

Costas on the game living up to the hype: “You had these two high-profile programs in a classic setting at a time when there was no National Playoff. So this game could very well determine the National Championship… it had all those elements. It was one of those times where the hype and anticipation were equaled by the reality of the game…if not the game of the century, certainly a game on that list.”

This week’s Notre Dame coverage on NBC and NBCSN:

Date Coverage  Time (ET) Network
Sat., November 10 Onward Notre Dame: 1993 Game of the Century  12 a.m. NBCSN
  Onward Notre Dame: 1993 Game of the Century  6:30 p.m. NBCSN
  Countdown to Kickoff  7 p.m. NBCSN
  No. 3 Notre Dame vs. Florida State  7:30 p.m. NBC
  Notre Dame Post-Game Show  11 p.m. NBCSN

2018 NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL ON NBC REMAINING SCHEDULE

Date Game Time(ET) Network
Sat., November 10  Notre Dame vs. Florida State 7:30 p.m. NBC
Sat., November 17  Notre Dame vs. Syracuse (at Yankee Stadium) 2:30 p.m. NBC

 

THROUGH FIVE GAMES, 2018 NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL ON NBC VIEWERSHIP UP 36% VS. 2017, BEST IN FIVE YEARS

Through five games, Notre Dame Football on NBC has produced a Total Audience Delivery of 3.657 million average viewers, up 36% vs. the first five games of the 2017 season (2.685 million), and marking the best viewership to this point on NBC since 2013 (3.692 million).

This year’s coverage has included the most-watched Notre Dame football game on NBC in 13 years (Notre Dame-Michigan) and the second most-watched Notre Dame-Stanford game on NBC in 24 years.

NBC SPORTS GOLD TO OFFER DIRECT-TO-CONSUMER LIVE STREAMING PRODUCT FOR INTERNATIONAL NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL FANS

NBC Sports Gold – NBC Sports Digital’s direct-to-consumer live streaming product – is relaunching its international “Notre Dame Football Season Pass,” giving fans in 13 international countries access to every Fighting Irish home game during the 2018 season. Powered by NBC Sports’ Playmaker Media, the direct-to-consumer pass will offer fans abroad comprehensive coverage of seven Notre Dame football home games live and on-demand, available online, as well as on mobile devices and tablets.

NBC Sports Gold’s “Notre Dame Football Season Pass” is available for purchase now for $49.99, and features all seven home games in the 2018 season. The pass is available in 13 countries: Austria, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and UK. USD or local currency pricing is available. “Notre Dame Football Season Pass” is not available to customers in the U.S. Click here for more information.


INSIDE THE IRISH
ON NBCSPORTS.COM

NBCSports.com will continue its Notre Dame Football coverage through its popular Inside The Irish blog, as Notre Dame Football insider Douglas Farmer covers the Irish from all angles throughout the 2018 season.


NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL ON NBCSPORTS.COM AND THE NBC SPORTS APP

NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app — NBC Sports Group’s live streaming platforms for desktops, mobile devices, tablets, and connected TVs — will provide extensive live streaming coverage of the 2018 Notre Dame Football on NBC season via “TV Everywhere,” giving consumers additional value for their subscription service, and making high quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms.

NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app are powered by Playmaker Media and available on the iTunes App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, Roku Channel Store, Apple TV and Amazon Fire.

–NBC SPORTS–