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Another Landmark: USF To Play At Notre Dame In 2011

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By BRETT McMURPHY, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 23, 2008

Updated: 01/23/2008 12:22 am

TAMPA - Seemingly every season, the University of South Florida football program achieves another first. In 2011, the Bulls will make even more history by playing at Notre Dame.

USF will visit the Fighting Irish on Nov. 19, 2011, conference officials familiar with the negotiations told The Tampa Tribune.

The Bulls will become only the third Florida school to play in historic Notre Dame Stadium, in the shadow of Touchdown Jesus. By playing in South Bend, Ind., the Bulls also will make their first national television appearance on NBC.

Notre Dame is the latest in a long line of BCS nonconference opponents - along with Miami, Michigan State, N.C. State, Indiana and Kansas - added to USF's schedule since Doug Woolard became the school's athletic director in 2004.

Woolard was not available for comment Tuesday night.

In 2006, Notre Dame AD Kevin White said the Irish were committed to playing three Big East opponents per year beginning in 2011. Notre Dame played Big East member Syracuse in 2005 and has future games scheduled with Pittsburgh.

Notre Dame's deal with USF is a one-game series in South Bend, where the Irish play in arguably college football's most famous stadium.

The Notre Dame football tradition is unmatched, having won 11 consensus national championships - by comparison, USF just completed its 11th season.

Notre Dame has won eight Associated Press national titles, has 10 members in the College Football Hall of Fame and has a record-tying seven Heisman Trophy winners.

Despite the youth of USF's program, the Bulls have had more recent success. USF, 9-4 last season, has been to three consecutive bowl games, while Notre Dame went 3-9 last year and didn't go to a bowl game for the first time since the 2003 season. The Irish have lost nine consecutive bowl games since winning the 1994 Cotton Bowl.

USF will join Miami and Florida State as the only state schools to play in South Bend. Miami is 1-8 against the Irish at Notre Dame; FSU is 2-1.

USF defensive coordinator Wally Burnham is one of three USF assistants who have coached against Notre Dame in South Bend. Burnham was FSU's linebackers coach when No. 1 FSU was upset by No. 2 Notre Dame 31-24 in 1993.

"You look up there and see Touchdown Jesus and all those things," Burnham said earlier this season. "It was a great experience. It's something as a coach you want to do in your lifetime."

USF offensive coordinator Greg Gregory and safeties coach Troy Douglas also have coached in Notre Dame Stadium. Gregory was an Army assistant when the Black Knights lost at Notre Dame in 1985; Douglas won at Notre Dame in 2001 as a Michigan State assistant.

"It was such a great place to play," Gregory said earlier this season. "Just a great tradition."

Earlier this season, Burnham said he hoped USF would one day get to play at Notre Dame.

"That's the kind of game this program needs," Burnham said. "To go and win those types of games to get this program where we want it to get to."

USF surely will get that opportunity in 2011. A week after visiting Notre Dame, the Bulls will host Miami on Nov. 26 at Raymond James Stadium.

USF playing Notre Dame and Miami in consecutive weeks? Un-Bull-ievable.

Reporter Brett McMurphy can be reached at (813) 259-7928 or bmcmurphy@tampatrib.com

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