Notre Dame and Michigan Under the Lights in ‘11
Michigan announced last week that the 2011 Notre Dame-Michigan game will be a night game. At most schools this wouldn’t be a major announcement. At Michigan though, the announcement was major since this will be the first night game played in Michigan Stadium. Ever.
Michigan AD Dave Brandon said in a release:
“This will be an unprecedented game day atmosphere that our fans have not experienced at Michigan Stadium,” said Brandon. “It’s a great opportunity to showcase our program, university and Ann Arbor to a primetime viewing audience. This also adds a new chapter to the storied rivalry between our two great programs.”
While this might be the first night game at Michigan Stadium, it won’t be the first night game between the two schools. The Irish and Wolverines squared off under the lights of Notre Dame Stadium three times in the 80’s and 90’s – the most recent coming in 1990 when Rick Mirer made his first career start for the #1 ranked Fighting Irish. Mirer led the top ranked Irish to a 28-24 victory over Michigan.
Overall, Notre Dame is 3-0 in night games against Michigan, including one of the more memorable games in Notre Dame Stadium. The Irish kicked off their National Championship 1988 season by hosting the Wolverines under the lights of Notre Dame Stadium. Notre Dame won a close content 19-17, but the most memorable part of the game came from the fans.
As surprising as it may sound now given the relative quiet atmosphere inside Notre Dame Stadium most Saturdays in the fall, the Irish were penalized because the crowd was too loud as shown in the following video.
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Michigan announced that ESPN or ESPN2 would carry the game which will kickoff at 8:00. With the game being at the beginning of the season and being broadcast on ESPN, look for the ESPN College Gameday crew to be in Ann Arbor that weekend.
Frank Vitovitch has been Co-Owner and Editor in Chief of UHND.com since joining forces with Kyle Flavin in 1999. Since that time, he has written over 2,000 articles covering Notre Dame football, recruiting, and basketball. He also works with all staff and external writers on all articles published on UHND.com. Frank's love for Notre Dame football started at a young age watching Rocket Ismail give opposing coaches ulcers in the late 1980's. By day Frank works in marketing and holds a degree in Digital Media from Drexel University. Frank's work has been cited by online/print editions of NBC Sports, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated and has been quoted on air by ESPN's Collin Cowherd. He's conducted interviews with Notre Dame legends Rocket Ismail, Randy Kinder, Lee Becton, Reggie Brooks, Michael Stonebreaker, and Ned Bolcar among others over his 20+ years of covering Notre Dame football. He's also been published in the print edition of USA Today Sports Weekly and the USA Today College Football Preview multiple times. Other Published Works/Citations for Frank Three Reasons Notre Dame Will Beat Alabama - USA Today Notre Dame Suspends WR Kevin Stepherson, RB C.J. Holmes Indefinitely - Bleacher Report Notre Dame / Ohio State Fiesta Bowl Preview - Eleven Warriors Brace Yourself: The Fighting Irish are Relevant Again - Sports on Earth Interviews with the Enemy: A Q&A with Frank Vitovitch of UHND - Yahoo! Sports Five Good Minutes: Notre Dame Football Preview With UHND.com - BC Interruption Vicious Electronic Questioning with UHND - MGO Blog
dear lord PLEASE let us get a different officiating crew than the last visit to Ann Arbor!
-one of the worst games i’v ever sat thru in my life!
Well there’s your problem.
You shouldn’t be sitting.
Night games are great, they get the fans pumped up, and the team feeds off of it. Following the night game in ann arbor(is a whore) there should be a night game the next year here in SB! i just recently was able to go to ND games starting with the 3-9 year, and the only “night games” we’ve had were the 4 ot loss to pitt adn the washington game last year was relatively dark as well. GO NIGHT GAMES!!!
WE ARE ND
yes lets do another night game ND STADIUM IS THE PERFECT ATMOSPHERE TRADITION HISTORY AND NOTRE DAME
There should be 2 home night games each year. I dont believe there has been a night game yet at ND Stadium since Rock’s house was renovated in 1997 when they installed lights. Of course with the possibility of a night game w/ a future team the likes of Tulsa – Utah or Western Michigan, maybe its best we dont burn the midnight oil…..