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Notre Dame to play back-to-back prime time home games in 2021

Fighting Irish to host 7 home games, including several notable rivalry games missing last year because of pandemic
Notre Dame Fighting Irish QB Ian Book hands off football to running back Kyren Williams vs. North Carolina Tar Heels in 2020
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WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — WPTV will televise all seven Notre Dame home games in 2021, including a pair of back-to-back prime time games in October.

NBC and Notre Dame released the kickoff times Thursday for its "Notre Dame on NBC" coverage, now in its 31st season.

Coverage begins with the Sept. 11 home opener against Tulsa at 2:30 p.m. It will be the first-ever meeting between the schools.

Four of the seven home games will begin at 2:30 p.m. The other games set for that timeslot are Purdue (Sept. 18), Cincinnati (Oct. 2) and Georgia Tech (Nov. 20).

The Fighting Irish will host Southern California and North Carolina in successive weekends. The USC game, which wasn't played last year for the first time since 1945, is slated for Oct. 23, while the UNC game is scheduled for Oct. 30. The Irish beat the Tar Heels 31-17 last season in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

2021 Notre Dame Schedule on WPTV

Date Opponent Time
Sept. 11Toledo 2:30 p.m.
Sept. 18Purdue2:30 p.m.
Oct. 2 Cincinnati 2:30 p.m.
Oct. 23Southern California7:30 p.m.
Oct. 30 North Carolina7:30 p.m.
Nov. 6Navy3:30 p.m.
Nov. 20Georgia Tech2:30 p.m.

The lone remaining daytime home game will be a 3:30 p.m. kickoff against Navy. It is the resumption of an historic rivalry that was interrupted last year for the first time since 1927 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Notre Dame is returning to an independent schedule this season after spending 2020 as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The Irish will play three ACC opponents on the road this year, including the Sept. 5 season opener at Florida State.