Marcus Freeman and the 11th-ranked Fighting Irish are set for a Week 8 road matchup as they begin a two-game stretch away from Notre Dame Stadium. However, their game against Georgia Tech will not take place at the Yellow Jackets’ home ground. Instead, the contest will be held at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, approximately two miles from Bobby Dodd Stadium.
The Fighting Irish, who hold a 5-1 record, will face Georgia Tech, which boasts a 5-2 record and is 3-2 within the ACC. This Saturday marks the first encounter between the two teams since 2021. Notre Dame’s game at this neutral venue is part of a trend, as they have previously participated in similar arrangements and plan to continue this practice in the 2024 season.
The game will be hosted at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, home to the Atlanta Falcons, which can accommodate around 71,000 spectators. This venue was introduced to Georgia Tech as part of a five-year agreement established in 2019 between the university, AMB Sports & Entertainment (the stadium’s operator), and the Peach Bowl. This deal allows Georgia Tech to host one game per year at Mercedes-Benz Stadium from 2020 through 2024.
Originally, the matchup between Georgia Tech and Notre Dame was scheduled as the inaugural game under this agreement in 2020. However, it was relocated to Bobby Dodd Stadium due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with Notre Dame competing as an ACC member that season. The former athletic director of Georgia Tech, Todd Stansbury, had expressed enthusiasm for this initiative, emphasizing the benefits it would bring in promoting the football program and enhancing the experience for players and fans.
Mercedes-Benz Stadium has recently been chosen as the site for the 2025 rivalry game between Georgia Tech and Georgia, known as “Clean, Old Fashioned Hate.”
Notre Dame has a history of engaging in neutral-site games during the regular season. From 2021 to 2023, the Fighting Irish played four neutral-site games against 12 traditional road games. As an independent team, they are not bound to a specific number of home or away games each season.
Since 2021, Notre Dame’s neutral-site game locations have included:
– 2021: vs. Wisconsin at Soldier Field (Chicago)
– 2022: vs. BYU at Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas) and vs. Navy at M&T Bank Stadium (Baltimore)
– 2023: vs. Navy at Aviva Stadium (Dublin)
This season, Notre Dame will play three neutral-site games against three true road games, starting with their matchup against Georgia Tech at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Following that, they will face Navy at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, marking the 97th meeting between the two teams. This location, which will host the Notre Dame-Navy game for the eighth time, was announced in 2021. The Fighting Irish will also return to their Shamrock Series on November 23 against Army at Yankee Stadium, their first Shamrock Series game since 2022.