The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have dropped the Arizona State Sun Devils from their 2014 football schedule, ESPN has reported.
Notre Dame is scheduled to visit Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe on October 25, 2014. The game is part of a series with Arizona State which begins this season on Oct. 5 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington.
The cancellation is not official yet, and as far as Arizona State is concerned, they are still set to host the Irish per their official statement:
”As far as Arizona State University is concerned we still have a valid contract with the University of Notre Dame to play football in 2014. We look forward to hosting them at Sun Devil Stadium.”
Notre Dame has agreed to play five ACC members per year beginning in 2014, so it’s reasonable to assume they may need to drop the ASU game. The Irish’s 2014 schedule currently consists of 11 games, two of which are ACC teams that were previously scheduled (Pittsburgh and Syracuse).
If the Irish still play those two, they only need three more ACC opponents. That leaves Notre Dame with the need to cancel or postpone two games to get to 12.
Notre Dame’s 2014 schedule currently includes home games against Rice, Michigan, Purdue, Stanford, Pittsburgh, and Northwestern and road games at Syracuse (at MetLife Stadium), Temple, Arizona State, Navy, and USC.
As for Arizona State, the loss of Notre Dame would cripple their 2014 non-conference slate. In addition to hosting Notre Dame, the Sun Devils are currently scheduled to host Weber State on Sept. 6 and travel to New Mexico on Sept. 13.
Football Schedules