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Each year, between Scholastic, WVFI Radio and others, Notre Dame student media covers every Fighting Irish football game — home and away. And while all of us on the second floor of Duncan love the comforts of college football’s cathedral, the sometimes absurd memories that road games produce are second-to-none. The Irish played five this past season, and here’s how we experienced them.
Miami
I actually covered the first two games myself for WVFI, so this shouldn’t be too difficult. Cell service, however, was a real challenge for Ben Rohr and me after we landed in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday afternoon. Neither of us could obtain a connection for the first seven hours of our stay in Florida and became separated for most of the evening. Ben went to see some friends of his, while I, naively expecting service to return in short order, took our gold Mitsubishi Mirage out for a drive and ended up stranded on Las Olas Beach (the horror!).
After we reconnected at the hotel and Ben fell asleep while studying his spotting board, gameday arrived with a significant threat for rain. We encountered it ourselves in South Beach, barely finishing our La Sandwicherie lunch before the skies opened up and forced us back into the parking garage. Sadly for Ben, the downpour arrived right before we reached the beach itself, so he never touched sand on his South Florida trip, much like the Orange Bowl travel party seven months earlier.
The monsoon persisted as we reached Hard Rock Stadium, finally softening two hours before kickoff. The pregame speakers may have been louder than the fans at Hard Rock, but the sea of orange still did its part as the Hurricanes outlasted the Irish. We called the game from the stadium’s corner, which is interestingly where all radio outlets (even commercial) are placed.
Arkansas
Buckle up, folks. It’s time for another WVFI encounter with the SEC. Ask me about the 2024 Texas A&M game. Anyway, Ryan Murphy and I began our Arkansas stay with an electric Friday night, taking in a Jon Pardi concert before heading to the world’s greatest establishment, Waffle House (Murph’s first visit!).
Though “Mr. Saturday Night” became my most-listened to song of 2025 because of this trip, we had a Saturday morning game to get up for the next day. Once inside the stadium, where we at first weren’t set to have broadcast space, the lovely Arkansas communications folks directed us to a patio area in the southwest corner of the venue. There, we scrambled to arrange our equipment next to national radio and got on the air via my hotspot to call a 56-13 demolition and surely one of the worst performances in Razorback football history.
The sunset certainly performed well, however, as I dragged Ryan on a hike up Mount Sequoyah on the east side of town for a beautiful dusk overlook of the region’s rolling hills. After that, we headed back to Dickson Street and met up with second floor alum Jimmy Collins to catch the end of Oregon-Penn State and Alabama-Georgia. Our Sunday flight was already a late one — and ended up departing five hours behind schedule – so we spent much of the trip’s final day at the Pea Ridge National Military Park, the site of a Union victory in 1862.
Boston College
For another all-senior WVFI trip, Brian Lane and Joseph Tunney headed to Boston, using Detroit’s terrific airport just like Ryan and I did. High winds initially delayed their landing, but once they did, a classic Boston pub dinner and a chance to watch Game sixof the World Series awaited them. Tunney particularly enjoyed his fish and chips.
The guys started gameday with a scenic run from their Park Plaza hotel to spots around the city, including Fenway Park. After seeing plenty of Irish fans and Uber-ing to Chestnut Hill, they took in the scenic Boston College campus, noting spotty student support for the football game inflated only by, well, Notre Dame. Like Arkansas, the Eagles offered Brian and Joe no space to broadcast the game, so they bravely ventured down to the concourse and found a corner balcony to set up shop.
Given the WVFI headsets, equipment and Brian’s spotting board, several BC fans wondered if the guys were stealing signals. Maybe that’s why the spotting board was stolen during the first half? Regardless, the broadcast team kept its composure with Tunney delivering a big-time call on Jeremiyah Love’s 94-yard score as the Irish overcame a sloppy start to win 25-10.
Pittsburgh
Two weeks later, Chris Dailey and Jack Rinaldi each made their WVFI traveling debuts for a top-25 showdown in the Steel City. As they made the five and a half hour drive from South Bend, they took a liking to the Cleveland suburb of Hudson, which apparently houses one of the nation’s quaintest McDonald’s restaurants. Upon arrival, Rinaldi took a tour of Pitt’s campus with a friend, grabbing an “outstanding” double cheeseburger at Stack’d in Oakland.
Through the years, the Irish have made a habit of playing in NFL venues, a big bonus for student radio. Rinaldi called Acrisure Stadium’s setup “absolutely phenomenal” and held a vantage point with Chris right next to the Notre Dame Radio Network. Both fanbases brought plenty of energy to the noon kickoff, but Notre Dame’s finished the afternoon in much greater spirits, both them and the broadcasters riding the vibes of back-to-back touchdowns in the first quarter to a memorable day.
Pardon me for the side note, but as someone who covered Irish athletics in Pittsburgh two years ago, make sure to drive eastbound through the Fort Pitt Tunnel at least once in your lifetime. It’s one of the coolest views that any city in America has to offer!
Stanford
Chris Dailey returned to cover the season finale in the Bay Area two weeks later, waking up at dawn to leave South Bend for San Francisco on Black Friday. Staying fairly close to the airport, he made the veteran call of opening his stay in California with a meal at In-N-Out Burger, a first visit he called “off the charts.”
Riding solo on this trip, Chris made the most of his opportunity to explore the city, checking out the “Full House” home before stumbling on a beautiful park and Uber-ing to the Golden Gate Bridge and its “breathtaking” views. He said he talked to each of his Uber drivers and enjoyed hearing their stories of sacrifice that brought them to the area. On gameday, Chris and some colleagues spent some time in downtown Palo Alto ahead of a late kickoff, hanging around a farmers’ market and shopping center near Stanford’s campus. The former evidently served some top-tier chocolate milk.
While South Bend received a foot of snow on Nov. 29, Chris basked in the sunshine on what he called the nicest campus he’s seen beyond Notre Dame. Stanford Stadium, which is scenically surrounded by plenty of green vegetation, didn’t house many fans that night, but they all treated Chris well as he filmed content around the tailgates. The game started after sunset, when California typically gets surprisingly cold, and Chris was relieved when the press box windows closed at halftime. He was stoked to meet former Cardinal quarterback Andrew Luck and get his hands on one of the “Captain Andrew Luck” bobbleheads given away for the game.