TAMPA, Fla. — In just the span of a month, Notre Dame went from playing an independent schedule without any Florida teams to hosting two Sunshine State schools in football this season.
Notre Dame and South Florida announced Thursday that the Bulls will travel to Notre Dame Stadium on Sept. 19 as the lone nonconference game for the Fighting Irish in 2020.
It will be the first of three future games between USF and the Fighting Irish, who will host the Bulls again and travel to Raymond James Stadium in Tampa on dates yet to be determined.
The game fills a void in both team's schedules caused by the cancellation of nonconference games as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Next month's meeting will be USF's first trip to Notre Dame Stadium since a 23-20 upset of then-No. 16 Notre Dame in the 2011 season opener.
Notre Dame will compete for a conference championship for the first time in school history after joining the Atlantic Coast Conference, of which it is a member in all other league-sponsored sports, for this season only.
By joining the ACC, the Irish will play a 10-game conference schedule that includes an unplanned home game against Florida State. The Seminoles, led by first-year head coach Mike Norvell, visited Notre Dame two seasons ago under current Florida Atlantic head coach Willie Taggart and lost 42-13.
Both the FSU and USF games will be televised on NBC and WPTV. Kickoff times have not yet been announced.