After coming off of a thrilling 41-38 road win against the Florida State Seminoles, #8 Notre Dame Fighting Irish will make their home debut this weekend. The 1-0 Irish will be heavily favored against 1-0 Toledo Rockets.
Notre Dame ended their 2020 season with a blowout loss against Alabama in the Rose Bowl during the College Football Playoffs semifinals. This year, they cannot afford any upsets against mid-major teams like Toledo if they want to make the playoffs. As an independent, Notre Dame does not have the benefit of playing in a conference; however, they do play 5 teams in the ACC, which includes 2 currently-ranked teams. The Irish currently have a total of 5 ranked teams on their schedule, which makes the margin of error even slimmer.
Off the field, Notre Dame’s home opener will be the first time in the school’s football program 134-year history that a game will not be televised. As reported earlier, this year’s home opener will be available exclusively on NBC’s streaming service Peacock. In an effort to boost subscribers, NBC is making this game a Peacock exclusive, which will make the game less accessible than over-the-air TV, but if the amount of new subscribers is determined to be a success then it is likely more games in the future will be exclusive to the service.
Notre Dame Stadium will be open for the full capacity of nearly 78,000 people throughout the 2021 season; however, cord cutters can find out how to watch every single moment of their home opener below.
When is the Notre Dame Football Home Opener
Kickoff for the Fighting Irish’s first home game of the 2021 college football season against the Toledo Rockets is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. ET, live from Notre Dame Stadium, in Notre Dame, Indiana, on Saturday, September 11, 2021, on Peacock.
How to Watch the Notre Dame Football Home Opener
Notre Dame games usually air on NBC but this year’s home opener will be exclusively available for Peacock Premium subscribers. Cord cutters can watch Notre Dame’s home opener with Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV, or any compatible device that supports the service.
Peacock will be the home of every Notre Dame home game, plus movies and hit shows from NBC’s expansive library for only $5/month. Just in time for Saturday’s game, new Peacock Premium subscribers can get 3 months of access for a single, one-time payment of $7.50 by using the code NOTREDAME. Following the 3-month offer period, your subscription will auto-renew on a monthly basis at $5/month until cancellation. Offer expires 9/12/21 and additional restrictions may apply.