Eddie George Set To Lead Tennessee State In Historic Game At Notre Dame

Heisman Trophy-winning great Eddie George will be part of history this weekend.

The 1995 Heisman Trophy winner, in his third season as the Tennessee State head coach, will lead his Tiger squad into a season-opening contest at No. 13 Notre Dame on Saturday in South Bend, Ind.

The game will kickoff at 3:30 p.m. ET and be broadcast live on NBC.

It marks the first time that the Fighting Irish have played an Historically Black College or University and the first time they’ve played an FCS opponent.

Notre Dame opened its season last week with a 42-3 win over Navy in Dublin and is a heavy favorite over George’s Tennessee State squad that is coming off of a 4-7 season in 2022.

The Tigers have won 12 black college national championships in program history, most recently in 2013. It has one win over an FBS opponent in its history, a 2017 victory over Georgia State.

Said George earlier this week about the historic game at Notre Dame:

“We’re very excited to play football against another opponent. Against a damn good opponent in Notre Dame. It is what it is. We have an opportunity to go up to South Bend and play in a historical venue such as South Bend Touchdown Jesus, the cathedral of all stadiums. 

“This is going to be a great opportunity for our kids to experience Saturday for our kids to play football against a damn good opponent. I think we are excited to give it our best shot and see if we can come away with a victory.

“Absolutely, our kids are really excited about it. They look forward to the challenge. We understand it’s going to be a difficult one, but this is something we knew going into this week. There is nothing that is taking us off guard. We understand the challenge they present on both sides of the ball and certainly special teams-wise.”

Like George, Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman also played at Ohio State, starring at linebacker for the Buckeyes from 2004-08.

With George and Freeman on opposite sidelines, it will mark just the third time black head coaches have coached against each other at Notre Dame Stadium.

George has another connection to Notre Dame.

In the fourth game of his Heisman Trophy-winning season, George helped Ohio State to a 45-26 win over Notre Dame in Columbus, rushing for 207 yards and two scores on 32 carries.