No. 7 Cincinnati vs. No. 9 Notre Dame start time: What time and what channel for Saturday’s game

The No. 7 Cincinnati Bearcats vs. No. 9 Notre Dame Fighting Irish meet up in Week 5 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. This highly anticipated contest between top-10 teams will go a long way in shaping how the college football landscape will look not just for this season but in the future. Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell is one of the hottest coaching candidates in the country and is expected to be a contender for the USC opening. A win here would be big for his resume.

Kickoff is set for 2:30 p.m. ET and the game will air on NBC. Both teams are looking to secure a massive win in their quest for the College Football Playoff.

The Bearcats are not just representing themselves in this contest. They’re representing every Group of 5 team who has knocked on the playoff door only to be denied by the sport’s biggest stakeholders. If Cincinnati wins a true road game over Notre Dame, who has made the playoff despite remaining independent, it will either force the committee to admit it doesn’t have a true criteria for selecting teams or begrudgingly include Cincinnati in the playoff field, assuming the Bearcats run the table. Notre Dame is looking like a CFP contender as well, and Brian Kelly has withstood some tough times to become the school’s winningest head coach. He faces his former program in this game.

The Irish are home underdogs in this one, according to DraftKings Sportsbook. Cincinnati is a 2-point favorite with the over/under set at 49.5.