In the snowy weather of last Friday, Notre Dame hosted Indiana in the first game of college football playoffs.

Both teams looked to this game with great anticipation, and it “had enormous national implications [because] the winner [would] play Georgia in the Sugar Bowl quarterfinal,” as journalist Jenna West wrote. Notre Dame had been planning for hosting playoffs since the summer, even changing their academic calendar to accommodate the football schedule. Indiana was excited for the snow. Before the game, Indiana coach Curt Cignetti said he hoped it would snow “a foot and a half,” since quarterback Kurtis Rourke, a native Canadian, performs well in cold weather.

The playoff game was the first to be played on Notre Dame’s new field, and the two universities had not played each other since 1991. As the playoffs began with this much-anticipated game, several inches of snow added to the holiday excitement. Snow had fallen in the morning, and chilly weather continued into the evening.

The game won plenty of attention from fans of both teams. Students, alumni, and college football enthusiasts alike came to watch, and ticket prices soared to $650 the day before the game. Alex Donovan, a 2020 Notre Dame alum, and his friend group of alumni came from cities as far as New York and San Francisco to enjoy the game. At the game, there were “[t]oo many groups of mixed allegiance to count,” in the words of journalists Brian Hamilton and Pete Sampson. One example was Notre Dame graduate Danny Felton, who went with his fellow alumni but also offered tickets to his brother and his brother’s fiancée, who were Indiana graduates. Overall, the two schools maintained friendly relations during the game. When thousands of fans of each team arrived on Notre Dame’s campus, as Hamilton and Sampson wrote, it was less of “[c]ollege football class warfare” and “more like a group hug.”

The fans watched as Notre Dame won 27-17. However, as Joe Mittiga, an Indiana graduate, predicted, the celebrations of the two schools getting together outweighed the actual results of the game. Soon, Notre Dame coach, Marcus Freeman, and the team will be heading to the New Year’s quarterfinal game. As for last Friday, fans of Notre Dame and Indiana alike enjoyed a cheerful game in the wonderfully snowy weather.

Sources:

“Notre Dame vs. Indiana Weather: College Football Playoff Kicking Off with Snow, Chilly Conditions” by Jenna West (December 20, 2024) https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6009332/2024/12/20/notre-dame-indiana-weather-snow-college-football-playoff/

“There aren’t a Lot of Firsts at Notre Dame. This was One of Them” by Brian Hamilton and Pete Sampson (December 21, 2024) https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6010461/2024/12/21/college-football-playoff-notre-dame-indiana-cfp/

“Notre Dame Rolls Past Indiana in College Football Playoff Opening Game: What’s Next?” by Pete Sampson, Joe Rexrode and Seth Emerson (December 20, 2024) https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6010457/2024/12/20/notre-dame-indiana-college-football-playoff/