Notre Dame will play rare game against MAC team

For Notre Dame fans tuning in Sept. 30 to watch the Fighting Irish, don’t rub your eyes.

It really is the Notre Dame football team playing a team from the MidAmerican Conference, and one from Ohio.

The Irish prides themselves for never playing beneath their own level — the Football Bowl Subdivision — and playing a top-notch schedule every year.

That schedule rarely includes a MAC team.

This weekend, though, the Irish welcome Miami (Ohio) for a 5 p.m. kickoff on NBC.

The game came to fruition thanks to RedHawks coach Chuck Martin, a former Notre Dame assistant.

“Everybody knows I love Notre Dame,” Martin told Cleveland.com in August. “They asked me early on (after he got the Miami job) if I wanted to play them.

“I said yeah, I want to play, but my thought was I didn’t want to play them right away, because I knew we weren’t very good. I thought maybe year four.”

Martin is in his fourth year at Miami, and his team is 2-2 this season with wins over Austin Peay and Central Michigan, and losses to Marshall and Cincinnati.

“I just wanted to bring a good product to Notre Dame,” Martin said. “And I wanted Miami to experience Notre Dame (on a football Saturday). I think it’s the greatest game day environment in the whole world.”

The game vs. the RedHawks will be just the sixth time Notre Dame has played a MAC team, and the second in the modern era.

The Irish played Miami in 1909, then Akron in 1910.

The MAC opponent they have played the most is Western Michigan — in 1919 and 1920, and most recent in 2010, which was a 44-20 Notre Dame victory.

Expect another MAC vs. Notre Dame matchup in the future.

In 2016, Toledo announced it will play at Notre Dame in 2021.

Top 10

(Last week’s ranking in parenthesis) 1. Alabama 4-0 (2) 2. Clemson 4-0 (1) 3. USC 4-0 (4) 4. Oklahoma 4-0 (3) 5. Penn State 4-0 (5) 6. Michigan 4-0 (6) 7. TCU 4-0 (NR) 8. Ohio State 3-1 (8) 9. Washington 4-0 (10) 10. Georgia 4-0 (NR) WATCH LIST » Wisconsin, Virginia Tech, Auburn, Oklahoma State, San Diego State

Top games Sept. 29

USC at Washington State, 10:30 p.m. (ESPN) Sept. 30 Northwestern at Wisconsin, noon (WEWS)

Georgia at Tennessee, 3:30 (WOIO)

Indiana at Penn State, 3:30 (Big Ten Network)

Iowa at Michigan State, 4 p.m. (WJW)

Miami (Ohio) at Notre Dame, 5 p.m. (WKYC)

Mississippi State at Auburn, 5 p.m. (ESPN)

Ohio State at Rutgers, 7:30 p.m. (Big Ten Network)

Clemson at Virginia Tech, 8 p.m. (WEWS)

Oklahoma State at Texas Tech, 8 p.m. (WJW)

Ole Miss at Alabama, 9 p.m. (ESPN)

Heisman watch

1. Baker Mayfield, QB, Oklahoma 2. Sam Darnold, QB, USC 3. Saquon Barkley, RB, Penn State

4. Lamar Jackson, QB, Louisville

5. Rashaad Penny, RB, San Diego State

AL GOLDIS — ASSOCIATED PRESS Notre Dame players celebrate following their 38-18 win over Michigan State on Sept. 23.