Report: Notre Dame, BYU schedule meeting in Las Vegas

Notre Dame has added a neutral site game against BYU to its 2022 football schedule, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Mark Anderson. The game will be played at the new Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas sometime during October as part of the “Shamrock Series.” This is the latest high-powered matchup to be scheduled for the Las Vegas Raiders and UNLV Rebels home field.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that while the date remains unknown, both teams have an open date on Oct. 8 and Oct. 29

Other markee games set to be played in Allegiant Stadium include Saturday’s season opener between BYU and Arizona and a 2024 Labor Day weekend meeting between LSU and USC.

In addition to the neutral site meeting with BYU, Notre Dame’s 2022 schedule already includes home games against UNLV and Clemson. The Fighting Irish will also make road trips to face Ohio State, North Carolina and USC.

Recent praise for Brian Kelly

ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit appeared on The Colin Cowherd Podcast on The Volume Network last month to discuss Notre Dame head football coach Brian Kelly, and how he thinks Kelly was able to turn the tide for the Fighting Irish.

“He was trying to recruit like an Ohio State, like an Alabama and like a Clemson,” said Herbstreit. “They got their doors blown off when they played Miami, I think it was three years ago. It was an embarrassment. And he went back home — he told me this — and said ‘I’m going to have a real look in the mirror, and I’m going to evaluate myself.’ And he talked to his team, and he said, ‘I’ve let you down. I want to get to know you as people. I want you to get to know me. I’m going to change our approach. We’re going to play to who we are.”

The game Herbstreit cited came in 2017. Although Notre Dame finished the season 10-3 and won the Citrus Bowl, the Fighting Irish’s 41-8 loss to Miami was an all-time low.

As Herbstreit says, that’s when Kelly decided to recruit to “who we are.”

“We can recruit some of the best offensive linemen in the country, and we’re going to,” Herbstreit said, describing Kelly’s realization. “We can recruit some of the best tight ends in the country; their tight ends are insane. And we’re going to get some great tailbacks. We’re going to get an Ian Book, a cerebral, smart, gym rat kind of quarterback. And then we’re going to find some defensive players that can come in and play here, because the academic standards at a Notre Dame are like a Stanford.”