Notre Dame and Wake Forest move 2027 game to a neutral site

The Duke’s Mayo Classic

The 2027 Notre Dame Football schedule got a little bit of a tweak on Monday. The Irish and the Wake Forest Demon Deacons announced a decision to move the 2027 game scheduled in Winston-Salem to Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. The game will be labeled as the Duke’s Mayo Classic.

Notre Dame to Face Wake Forest in 2027 Duke’s Mayo Classic

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Notre Dame will face Wake Forest in the 2027 Duke’s Mayo Classic, played at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. on Saturday, Oct. 9, 2027. The game is part of Notre Dame’s existing scheduling agreement with the Atlantic Coast Conference and will be played as a neutral-site contest.

The Irish hold a 6-0 record against the Demon Deacons, winning the last meeting 47-7 in 2023 at Notre Dame Stadium. The two programs have never played a neutral-site game against one another, with Notre Dame owning a 4-0 record against Wake Forest at home, and 2-0 record on the road.

“We are excited for another chance to play in an NFL stadium and against the Demon Deacons,” Notre Dame Deputy Athletics Director for Football Ron Powlus said. “The opportunity to showcase our two great institutions and football programs, while affording our football program and student-athletes an exciting and unique experience in the great city of Charlotte, is one we can’t wait to be a part of.”

Notre Dame’s success in NFL stadiums spans decades. The Irish hold a 28-15 record when playing in current NFL stadiums (beginning in 1980). Notre Dame leads all FBS teams in number of different NFL stadiums played since 2014 with 17. The next closest programs have 10. Since 2016, Notre Dame has played 19 games in NFL Stadiums: eight postseason matchups and 11 regular-season contests.

2027 will mark the second time the Irish have played in Bank of America Stadium, the first being the 2020 ACC Championship game, as Notre Dame competed as a member of the ACC that season.

“We are thrilled to welcome Notre Dame and Wake Forest to Charlotte for what promises to be an unforgettable matchup at Bank of America Stadium,” Will Pitts, CEO of the Charlotte Sports Foundation, said. “This game is a testament to our city’s passion for college football and our continued commitment to hosting premier sporting events. We’re incredibly grateful to both universities for their partnership and to Duke’s Mayo for their unwavering support in making events like this possible.”

While I do prefer Duke’s Mayo to any other mayo out there, and I do recognize that the Irish have travelled to play multiple games Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium with its capacity of just around 31,000 fans… I still don’t like it.

College games should be played in college stadiums. Period. Full stop. Slam your Budweiser.

I do not care about a multitude of things that most Irish fans will love about this, including:

• NFL Stadium — overrated bulletpoint by a large margin.
• More Irish fans in the area can attend — try INVADING a real stadium like the Nebraska Cornhuskers and Georgia Bulldogs have done before.
• A better meal in the pressbox — this should never be a thing talked about, and yet it is.

Anyways… it is what it is — lame but expected.