Notre Dame hits prime-time on NBC

From NBC Sports -

IN THE SPIRIT OF ROCKNE, NOTRE DAME HOSTS WASHINGTON STATE IN SAN ANTONIO, TX THIS SATURDAY IN FIRST-EVER PRIMETIME GAME ON NBC

“I have not seen a better all around receiver this year than Tate. - Haden

NEW YORK - October 28, 2009 - In the spirit of legendary Notre Dame head coach Knute Rockne, the #23 (BCS) Notre Dame Fighting Irish (5-2) will host the Washington State Cougars (1-6) in a primetime off-site home game in San Antonio, Texas this Saturday on NBC Sports. Rockne pioneered traveling the team around the country to establish intersectional rivalries. This marks the first time in the 19-year history of the Notre Dame-NBC relationship that NBC will broadcast a game in primetime.

Coverage begins at 7:30 pm ET from the Alamodome with Tom Hammond handling play-by-play duties, Pat Haden providing analysis and Alex Flanagan reporting from the sidelines.

HADEN ON THE MATCHUP: "The Irish take their show on the road this week to San Antonio to meet the Cougars of Washington State. Knute Rockne would be proud! The Irish have BCS bowl game hopes and their offense, led by Jimmy Clausen and Golden Tate, remains very dynamic. I have not seen a better all around receiver this year than Tate. He is awesome, both before the catch getting open, and even more so after the catch where he is so difficult to tackle. He is fun to watch but difficult to defend."

NOTRE DAME'S OFF-SITE LEGACY: Rockne, the legendary Irish coach who accumulated an .881 winning percentage (105-12-5) during a 13-year tenure at Notre Dame (1918-30), was the first football coach to take his team all over the country and initiate intersectional rivalries. Saturday's game is the first in a series of Notre Dame off-site home games scheduled over the next seven seasons. Army is scheduled for next year on November 20 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, N.Y.

NOTRE DAME PRESIDENT FATHER JOHN I. JENKINS ON OFF-SITE GAMES: "We have scheduled teams who want to play us at offsite venues because it's as great for their program as for ours. The off-site games provide an opportunity to have a primetime game broadcast by NBC."

NOTRE DAME-WASHINGTON STATE MATCHUP: Notre Dame and Washington State have met just once before on September 6, 2003 when Notre Dame won 29-26 in overtime at home. Notre Dame is coming off a 20-16 win against Boston College at South Bend. Irish WR Golden Tate caught 11 passes for 128 yards and two touchdowns. The win snapped a six-game losing streak to the Eagles and moved Notre Dame to No. 23 in the latest BCS standings. The Irish have played in six consecutive games decided by seven points or less, the most in the FBS. Washington State lost, 49-17, to Cal last weekend dropping its record to 1-6.

NOTRE DAME RATINGS UP 24 PERCENT: Through the first five broadcasts of the season Notre Dame viewership on NBC Sports has jumped 24 percent compared to the first five broadcasts from last year (4.2 million vs. 3.4 million).

The Oct. 17 USC-Notre Dame game on NBC Sports drew 6.5 million viewers, the most for a Notre Dame game on NBC since September 9, 2006 when the Penn St.-Notre Dame game drew 6.9 million viewers.

NOTRE DAME ON NBCSPORTS.COM: NBCSports.com will once again offer a live post-game webcast, which will originate from the Alamodome and extend the NBC Sports television broadcasts by providing an unprecedented depth of Notre Dame coverage including live coverage of Coach Charlie Weis' press conference.

NOTRE DAME ON NBC SPORTS MOBILE: Notre Dame fans can get news and scores right on their cell phones with the NBC Sports Mobile Web site or the all-new NBC Sports iPhone app. Fans can also sign-up for exclusive text alerts with scoring updates and daily news. To find out how, users can just text the word ND to 51515 or visit http://mobile.nbcsports.com.

NOTRE DAME CENTRAL APP: iPhone and iPod touch can also get LIVE mobile access to every NBC Sports broadcast of Notre Dame football games when they download the newly launched Notre Dame Central app on iTunes. Users can access live scores, stats, video highlights & archives, and much more. To find out how, text IRISH to 51515 or visit the App Store on iPhone and iPod touch, or at www.itunes.com/appstore.

Remaining Notre Dame on NBC Schedule
(all games broadcast in HD):
Date Opponent Time (all times ET)
Nov. 7 Navy 2:30 p.m. ET
Nov. 21 Connecticut 2:30 p.m. ET

NOTRE DAME ON NBC: In June of 2008, the University of Notre Dame and NBC Sports announced a new five-year agreement under which NBC will televise Irish home football games through 2015, which will mark the 25th year of the partnership. The extension provides NBC rights to eight Notre Dame home games from 2011-15, seven games at Notre Dame Stadium and an additional eighth off-site home game airing in primetime each year. The landmark relationship began in 1991.