In 132 years of football, there is little unprecedented left for Notre Dame. Going three full weeks between games, however, will not be a first for the Irish. (Knock on wood Saturday’s game against Florida State kicks off as scheduled at 7:30 ET on NBC.)
Notre Dame went five weeks between games during the 1918 pandemic, but that was only one game into the season. In Knute Rockne’s first season, the Irish beat up on Case Tech, 26-6, on Sept. 28 before biding their time into November and a 67-7 trouncing of Wabash.
Playing two games, and thus getting decently into the season, before taking multiple weeks off is unprecedented for Notre Dame, and Irish head coach Brian Kelly knows as much.