clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Notre Dame Football: Irish Announce 2021 Schedule, Including Cincinnati Game

Game versus Bearcats will be the first meeting since 1900!

By ndjrs
notre dame helmet Mike Miller/One Foot Down

Brian Kelly left the Cincinnati Bearcats behind in 2009 to become the new head coach of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Fast forward 12 years and Kelly may be part of the welcome committee for his former employer, as the Irish host the Bearcats on Oct. 2, 2021.

This will be the first meeting between the two teams since a 58-0 Irish victory in October...1900.

The Irish had announced almost the entirety of its 2021 schedule prior to today, except for the Cincinnati game and the date of the home game against the North Carolina Tar Heels.

The entire schedule looks like this:

Monday, Sept. 6 at Florida State Seminoles
Saturday, Sept. 11 vs. Toledo Rockets
Saturday, Sept. 18 vs. Purdue Boilermakers
Saturday, Sept. 25 vs. Wisconsin Badgers (at Soldier Field, Chicago)(Shamrock Series)
Saturday, Oct. 2 vs. Cincinnati Bearcats
Saturday, Oct. 9 at Virginia Tech Hokies
Saturday, Oct. 16 BYE WEEK
Saturday, Oct. 23 vs. USC Trojans
Saturday, Oct. 30 vs. North Carolina Tar Heels
Saturday, Nov. 6 vs. Navy Midshipmen
Saturday, Nov. 13 at Virginia Cavaliers
Saturday, Nov. 20 vs. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Saturday, Nov. 27 at Stanford Cardinal

The Bearcats currently employ two former Notre Dame coaches:

  • Mike Denbrock was the offensive tackles and tight ends coach for Notre Dame from 2002 to 2004, the tight ends coach again in 2011, the wide receivers coach in 2012 and 2013, the offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach in 2014 and the assistant head coach and wide receivers coach in 2015 and 2016. He is currently the offensive coordinator and tight ends coach at Cincinnati.
  • Jon Tenuta was the assistance head coach and linebackers coach for Notre Dame in 2008 and the assistant head coach, defensive coordinator and linebackers coach in 2009. He is now the safeties coach at Cincinnati.

Mike Mickens, Cincinnati’s current cornerbacks coach, played for Kelly’s Bearcats for two of his four seasons.

What do you think? Leave your thoughts in the comment section below.

More From One Foot Down