SOUTH BEND — Notre Dame football should be home in time for trick-or-treating on Halloween night.
The Irish will kick off against Navy on Oct. 31 at noon in Foxborough, MA, Notre Dame announced Wednesday, May 27. The game will be played at Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots and rookie tight end Eli Raridon.
ESPN or ABC will carry the telecast.
Notre Dame will be coming off its lone bye week of the 2026 regular season. An early start on Oct. 31 also gives the Irish a few extra hours to prepare for the Nov. 7 home showdown at night against Miami.
Notre Dame is 6-1 in noon Eastern starts under coach Marcus Freeman, including a 51-14 win over No. 24 Navy in 2024 at Met Life Stadium in New Jersey.
Last season, the Irish pummeled Arkansas (56-13) and Pittsburgh (37-15) on the road in noon Eastern starts. Arkansas plays in the Central time zone, so the Irish actually kicked off at 11 a.m. local time that day.
The lone midday loss in Freeman’s first four seasons came at unranked Clemson (31-23) in 2023.
Kickoff times remain undetermined for Irish road games at Purdue (Sept. 26), North Carolina (Oct. 3), BYU (Oct. 17) and Syracuse (Nov. 28).
Mike Berardino covers Notre Dame football for the South Bend Tribune and NDInsider.com. Follow him on social media @MikeBerardino.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Notre Dame, Navy football set kickoff time for Halloween meeting
Reporting by Mike Berardino, South Bend Tribune / South Bend Tribune
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
