Irish Breakdown

2027 Notre Dame Road Game Officially Moved to Neutral Site

Notre Dame will take part in the Duke's Mayo Classic in 2027
Nick Shepkowski|
Jan 2, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman looks on from the sidelines against the Georgia Bulldogs during the first half at Caesars Superdome.
Jan 2, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman looks on from the sidelines against the Georgia Bulldogs during the first half at Caesars Superdome. | Amber Searls-Imagn Images

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Notre Dame Fighting IrishWake Forest Demon Deacons

Notre Dame football is going to play for all of the mayonnaise in 2027.

Seven opponents are currently known for that season, and one that was supposed to be a road game is now moving to a neutral field.

Instead of traveling to Winston-Salem to take on Wake Forest in 2027, Notre Dame and the Demon Deacons will get together on Oct. 9 in Charlotte in the Duke's Mayo Classic.

No, really.

This was originally supposed to happen in 2020 when Notre Dame's trip to Wake Forest was to be played as the Duke's Mayo Classic in Charlotte. COVID, however, then cancelled those plans, moving the game back to Wake Forest's campus, which was ultimately also canceled because of COVID (or so says the ACC).

For Notre Dame, it's understandable to want to do this. North Carolina has become a hotbed for Fighting Irish recruiting of late, and this puts the program on display in the only NFL venue in the state. It also takes away whatever home-field advantage Wake Forest would have in its humble abode at Allegacy Stadium.

That said, my longtime belief that college football is better when played on college campuses applies here, and this game being played in Charlotte isn't for the betterment of college football overall.

That said, since Notre Dame will hopefully never play in the Duke's Mayo Bowl under Marcus Freeman, can we at least get a mayo dump on Freeman, assuming Notre Dame wins the game?

PJ Fleck of Minnesota gets the ceremonial mayo dump after winning the Duke's Mayo Bow
Jan 3, 2025; Charlotte, NC, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers head coach P.J. Fleck receives the ceremonial mayo dump after his teams’ win over Virginia Tech Hokies at the Duke’s Mayo Bowl at Bank of America Stadium. | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

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Nick Shepkowski
NICK SHEPKOWSKI

Managing Editor for Notre Dame On SI. Started covering Chicago sports teams for WSCR the Score, and over the years worked with CBS Radio, Audacy, NBC Sports, and FOX Sports as a contributor before running the Notre Dame wire site for USA TODAY.

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