On Saturday, NBC Sports airs the annual USC-Notre Dame game from the famed South Bend, IN campus in primetime. It headlines an NBC Sports Group college football tripleheader which begins with Versus airing an Ivy League matchup between Yale and Penn at noon ET followed by a Mountain West showdown between Boise State and Air Force.
Then NBC will carry USC-Notre Dame in the first primetime home game at Notre Dame Stadium since 1990. Tom Hammond, Mike Mayock and Alex Flanagan will be in South Bend for the annual Trojans-Fighting Irish game. The Irish hope to make a winning streak after breaking eight straight losses to USC in last year’s game at the LA Coliseum.
Here’s the NBC Sports Group press release.
NOTRE DAME-USC IN PRIMETIME HIGHLIGHTS NBC SPORTS GROUP TRIPLE-HEADER ON SATURDAY, OCTOBER 22
Coverage Begins on Saturday on VERSUS with Ivy League followed by Mountain West Match-up
“Everybody cares about this one, it’s not just regional.” – Doug Flutie on Notre Dame/USC Rivalry
“They are a BCS team from a talent perspective.” – Mike Mayock on Notre Dame
NEW YORK (October 20, 2011) – The NBC Sports Group will air a triple-header of college football games highlighted by Notre Dame’s first home primetime game in 21 years. Saturday’s primetime matchup on NBC will be the 83rd meeting between Notre Dame (4-2) and USC (5-1), regarded as the greatest intersectional rivalry in college football, and will mark the first night game at Notre Dame Stadium since a contest vs. Michigan in 1990. Last season, the Fighting Irish, who hold an all-time series lead of 43-34-5, snapped an eight-game losing streak to the Trojans with a 20-16 win at USC.
VERSUS’ Saturday coverage kicks-off at Noon when the Yale Bulldogs (3-2) taking on the Pennsylvania Quakers (3-2). The Quakers have won three in a row and will try to continue their winning streak against the Bulldogs. The network’s second game of the day will feature the undefeated No. 5 ranked Boise State Broncos (6-0) in a Mountain West battle with the Air Force Falcons (3-3) at 3:30 p.m. ET.
COMMENTATORS: NBC will team commentators Tom Hammond (play-by-play) with Mike Mayock (analyst) and Alex Flanagan (sideline reporter) for the Notre Dame coverage. Paul Burmeister will helm VERSUS’ Mountain West Conference coverage and will be joined by Shaun King as analyst and Anthony Herron as sideline analyst. Randy Moss will serve as the play-by-play announcer for all VERSUS Ivy League games and will be joined in the booth by Ross Tucker as lead analyst. Carolyn Manno will serve as in-game reporter. NBC and VERSUS will have an analyst reporting from the sidelines for all college football games to provide first-person analysis from the field and interact with the play-by-play and color announcers in the booth.
VERSUS will surround its college football game coverage this weekend with halftime reports and post-game coverage, from NBC’s Football Night in America studio (Studio 8G) at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. Additionally VERSUS will air a 30-minute pre-game show that will focus on the Notre Dame/USC game at 7 p.m. ET and will air a wrap up show at 11 p.m. ET. The coverage will be hosted by Liam McHugh with 1984 Heisman Trophy-winner Doug Flutie and Super Bowl champion and former NFL tight end Roland Williams serving as studio analysts. NBC will also present a halftime show featuring McHugh and Flutie providing scores and highlights.
MAYOCK ON THE TRADITION OF THE ND/USC GAME: “For me, history and tradition are really important. I stood there watching the band at USC [at their facility earlier this week]. Why am I watching the band? I came out of the USC football building the other day and the band was practicing and the fight song was going on, and I got chill bumps. I get chill bumps when the Notre Dame Fight Song goes on….I think there is inherent value in preserving these kinds of traditions.”
FLUTIE ON THE RIVALRY: “From a national standpoint, the interest involved in this is way larger. From East to West Coast, from Mid-west to West Coast, this creates a whole other level of interest nationwide. Everybody cares about this one, it’s not just regional.”
MAYOCK ON NOTRE DAME: “If Notre Dame gets consistent production and a clean game at the quarterback position, I think they are a BCS team from a talent perspective.”
TUCKER ON IVY LEAGUE: “The Quakers are looking to extend their 17 straight game Ivy League win streak while trying to set a record with a third straight undefeated Ivy campaign. The Bulldogs are led by quarterback Patrick Witt, a legitimate pro prospect who leads their high-powered offense.”
WILLIAMS ON MOUNTAIN WEST: “It seems Boise State is ready to soar. Led by quarterback Kellen Moore and his consistent receiving corps, look to see an impressive display of offensive football. For Air Force, it will be best to stay on the ground. Besides having to try to keep the Boise State offense off the field, Tim Jefferson and his triple-option offense will also need to produce points and limit turnovers to pull off the upset of the season.”
And I’m shutting down for the night. See you during the weekend.
