The first ever home College Football Playoff game will be played at Notre Dame Stadium.
With the postseason field expanding from four to 12 teams, the addition of first-round games played at host sites were added. And with how the scheduling works out for this week, one of college football’s more iconic stadiums gets spotlighted first when No. 7 Notre Dame (11-1) takes on No. 10 Indiana (11-1) (8 p.m. ET, ESPN).
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While Notre Dame Stadium is considered one of the mecca’s of college football venues, it hasn’t always been the best home environment for the Fighting Irish in recent memories. Nebraska’s visit in 2000 and Georgia’s trip in 2017 turned the stadium into a sea of red, while even Cincinnati in 2021 and Ohio State in 2023 did a good job of neutralizing a good portion of the Irish fanbase.
All of those foes were from out of state. Indiana is not, of course, as it’s about a 200-mile trek from IU’s home base in Bloomington to South Bend. Millions of Hoosiers fans live all across the state as well, given it’s one of the two biggest universities in the state alongside Purdue.
Will Friday see history repeat itself with a visiting fanbase overtaking Notre Dame Stadium? We asked Gannett’s Notre Dame and Indiana football reporters ― Mike Berardino, Tom Noie and Austin Hough of the South Bend Tribune, Zach Osterman of the IndyStar and Michael Niziolek of the Bloomington Herald-Times ― their thoughts on if enough Hoosier fans can get into the stadium to take away the Irish’s home field advantage.
Mike Berardino: Ticketing technology (and digital footprints for opportunistic season-ticket holders) has come a long way since Notre Dame Stadium was awash in red for pseudo home games against Georgia (2017) and Nebraska (2000). When Ohio State visited in 2023, Buckeye fans were a throaty minority, but the Home of the Irish was still neon green that night.
Hoosier fans face not only a 200-mile drive in slick, potentially snowy conditions, but the most aggressive third-party seller pricing in Year 1 of the 12-team College Football Playoff. Plus, this whole “good at football” thing is still so new to them, it’s hard to imagine anything but a decided home-field brrrrr-vantage for the Irish.
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Tom Noie: Not a chance. The Notre Dame fan base still remembers (and is still stung by) Nebraska in 2000, Georgia in 2017, Cincinnati in 2021 and Ohio State in 2023 when seas of red invaded Notre Dame Stadium. Those games were opportunities for season ticket holders to make some coin by selling their tickets to opposing fans who made it a point to make a pilgrimage to one of college football’s cathedrals.
This is a chance for Notre Dame fans to say they’re a part of history. That matters, and it will Friday.
Disagree with the notion that Indiana fans will “invade” Notre Dame Stadium and will pay whatever it takes. It’s five days before Christmas. Not sure anyone would budget an extra $1,000 or so per ticket so close to the holiday. Sorry, Santa’s big bag ain’t that deep.
Austin Hough: Yes and no? Those secondary market ticket prices are outrageous, but this is also the first time Indiana football has done anything remotely this good in a long time. If this were a regular season game, those prices would scare most people away. Since it’s a chance to witness history, though, I think enough IU fans will travel to South Bend to make the crowd interesting at least. The majority will still be Notre Dame fans, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it was a 75/25 split between Irish and Hoosiers.
Zach Osterman: Some? Yes. Enough? I’m not sure what that number is. What I will say is IU fans have followed this team pretty consistently through the course of the season, recognizing they were on a bit of a journey. I think they’ll make every effort to continue that Friday night, even given the steep cost of tickets.
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Michael Niziolek: It will be a challenge given the higher ticket prices to get casual fans to make the trek across the state, but the good news for Hoosiers fans is that prices have come down a bit since the matchup was announced.
There are now tickets in the upper bowl to be had for less than $500. The cost for those same tickets after Selection Sunday was north of a $1,000. I think there will be a solid contingent of Indiana fans in the stands — there were plenty of them in Columbus for the Ohio State game — but it won’t be big enough to turn Notre Dame Stadium into a friendly environment.
