Notre Dame Will Play Its 1st Ever FCS Opponent In ’23 And Fans Are Livid

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Notre Dame will make history in the 2023 college football season.

The Fighting Irish have schedule Tennessee State to the upcoming slate, marking the first time in school history that the program will face an FCS foe.

Prior to the announcement, the Irish had been one of just three schools to have never played FCS level competition. The other two are UCLA and Southern Cal. That streak will come to an end for Notre Dame in ’23, however, as they host the Tigers in South Bend.

The matchup will actually highlight two of college football’s up and coming African American head coaches, as Marcus Freeman will face off against former NFL legend Eddie George.

George took over for the 2021 season, leading the Tigers to a 5-6 record. Freeman will lead his first campaign in 2022 following the departure of Brian Kelly to LSU.

While the contest will feature that awesome coaching matchup, many Notre Dame fans are still upset with having to see the FCS streak die.

Notre Dame Fans React To Scheduling FCS Opponent

The group of programs to have never played an FCS foe is small. Soon, it will grow even smaller. Check out some of the angry reaction from the Fighting Irish Faithful below.

With Notre Dame having been an independent program for so long, they’ve had the ability to schedule as they wish. They’ve developed rivalries with teams like USC, Navy, Boston College, and Stanford, which don’t necessarily have geographical ties.

The move closer to the ACC has caused some issues in scheduling, though. And it appears as conference affiliation creeps closer, we may see some more of these FCS foes replace long standing rivalry matchups.