The No. 15 Notre Dame football team will play Iowa State in the Camping World Bowl on Dec. 28 in Orlando, Florida. After a 10-win season for the third consecutive year, the Irish (10-2) will try for their 11th win of the season against the Cyclones (7-5, 5-4 Big 12).
This will be the first meeting between the two programs, the 148th different team to play against Notre Dame, with the Irish having won 84% of first-time meetings.
“Our players are excited. Our university is excited. We got a great matchup with a very, very good football team in Iowa State,” Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said in a press conference after the announcement. “[Iowa State head coach] Matt Campbell has done an incredible job. The football team he has this year is a record-setting football team. … It will be a great challenge for our football team.”
Kelly said that junior defensive lineman Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa and junior offensive lineman Aaron Banks, who both suffered injuries late in the season, have been cleared to play.
“They’ve been with our football team conditioning,” Kelly said. “We’ll begin on Saturday our practice format. It’s kind of an interesting schedule we have to put together because we start our reading days on Saturday, and exams next week. We’ll kind of work around it.”
He also said no one had told him they would sit out the bowl game, although he confirmed sophomore wide receiver Kevin Austin Jr. will not be available to play.
“Nobody has come to me,” he said. “… We have a history and tradition here. The nine bowl games that I’ve been part of, everybody plays. If something changes, I’m certain we’ll deal with it and they’ll let us know.”
The Irish finished the regular season in the top 15 in the FBS in both scoring offense, putting up 37.1 points per game, and scoring defensive, surrendering 18.7 points per game. They finished their second consecutive undefeated home season and have won their last 18 games at Notre Dame Stadium, the third-longest such streak in program history.
Kelly said he hopes a bowl game win will build momentum going into next season, as the win over LSU in the Citrus Bowl led to the undefeated 2018 regular season.
“I think it builds a lot of momentum going into your off-season when you’re able to win a bowl game. Certainly doing it against quality opposition. … I just think it catapults you into your off-season training, conditioning,” he said. “It builds a great deal of confidence as you get ready for the next season.”
The Camping World Bowl is scheduled to kick off at noon ET on Dec. 28 and will be broadcast on ABC.
