Texas A&M-Notre Dame matchup will be in prime time on ABC on Aug. 31
Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman and run game coordinator Al Washington talk the Irish spring game
The Blue Team won the Blue and Gold game 28-21 on Saturday, ending the spring season for Notre Dame. Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman and run game coordinator Al Washington spoke on what they liked, and didn't like, from the game.
The first full week of the upcoming college football season will feature a Saturday tripleheader on ABC, including Texas A&M hosting Notre Dame in prime time.
ESPN announced its major matchups for Week 0 and Week 1 on Tuesday as part of its presentation to advertisers in New York.
The Aug. 31 matchup also marks Mike Elko's first game as Texas A&M's head coach. Elko was the defensive coordinator and safeties coach at Texas A&M from 2018-21 before being hired by Duke, where he was 16-9 in two seasons.
Before his first stint with the Aggies, Elko was the defensive coordinator at Notre Dame in 2017.
College GameDay will also originate from College Station, Texas, that day for the first time since 2018.
ABC's other Saturday Week 1 games include Clemson facing Georgia in Atlanta at 12 p.m. ET and Florida hosting Miami at 3:30 p.m. in the first SEC telecast on the network. ABC takes over the late afternoon SEC game from CBS.
The Sunday, Sept. 1, game between Southern California and LSU will also be on ABC with a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.
ESPN announced last December that College GameDay will make its first international trip on Aug. 24, when Florida State faces Georgia Tech in Dublin, Ireland. That game will kick off at 12 p.m., and is one of the Week 0 marquee matchups. ABC will carry the MEAC/SWAC Challenge Kick-Off between Florida A&M and Norfolk State at 7:30 p.m.
ESPN's Aug. 31 games include Alabama hosting Western Kentucky at 7:30 p.m. in Kellen DeBoer's Crimson Tide debut.
Texas and Oklahoma, which join the SEC this coming season, will have its openers on ESPN. The Sooners host Temple on Friday, Aug. 30, at 7 p.m. and the Longhorns face Colorado State on Aug. 31 at 3:30 p.m.
ESPN will also carry North Dakota State at Colorado on Aug. 29, TCU at Stanford on Aug. 30 and Boston College at Florida State on Sept. 2.
CBS, which will be in its first full season carrying Big Ten games at 3:30 p.m. ET, will have Southern California's first conference game on Sept. 21 when it visits Michigan. The network also has Notre Dame at Purdue on Sept. 14 as well as the conference title game on Dec. 7 at 8 p.m.
The Pac-12 Conference also announced on Tuesday that Oregon State and Washington State's home games will be on the CW Network or Fox. Most will be on the CW, including the Beavers hosting the Cougars on Nov. 23 at 6:30 p.m. ET.
Fox or FS1 will carry Texas Tech at Washington State on Sept. 7 and Oregon at Oregon State on Sept. 14.
Oregon State and Washington State remain committed to rebuilding the Pac-12, but it will as a two-team league for 2024 and possibly 2025.
The CW Network also has a package of ACC games.
NBC and Fox announced some of their matchups on Monday.
NBC’s first two "Big Ten Saturday night" games are set with defending national champion Michigan hosting Fresno State on Aug. 31 and Colorado at Nebraska on Sept. 6.
Fox has also finalized its first two "Big Noon Saturday" matchups. It announced the Sept. 6 game between Texas and Michigan during the Wolverines’ spring game three weeks ago, but on Monday added the Sept. 13 matchup between Alabama and Wisconsin.
Analysis: On Blue and Gold Game, Notre Dame football's focus was rightfully on its future
The focus on that, the future, was at the forefront in South Bend on Saturday afternoon. The lessons Freeman learned along the way have guided that focus.