Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly, who now has the most wins in program history, told reporters on Monday that he scheduled a game against Cincinnati to give his former school "a chance to play" in South Bend.
But Saturday's matchup won't feel like a friendly exhibition. With both teams ranked inside the top-10, there's major College Football Playoff implications, and CBS Sports analyst Chip Patterson is intrigued by a handful of storylines.
"You mentioned the CFP -- that's first and foremost, and yes, it's important," Patterson told The DA Show on Thursday. "But how about Brian Kelly going up against his old team, where he's still No. 2 in winning percentage after leading that group to two BCS bowl games? And how about Kelly hiring Cincinnati's defensive coordinator, Marcus Freeman, over to his staff to replace Clark Lea after last season?
"So, we've got Kelly against his former team, Notre Dame's defensive coordinator against his former team, [Cincinnati head coach] Luke Fickell going up against the school that'd be my bet for one of the only schools he'd move to... I just love the layers to this game, and for it to be in an iconic college football house like Notre Dame Stadium..."
No. 9 Notre Dame obliterated Wisconsin, 41-13, last Saturday at Soldier Field in Chicago. Grad transfer quarterback Jack Coan completed 15 of 29 passes for 158 yards and a touchdown, and the Fighting Irish defense forced five turnovers and returned two interceptions for house calls.
As for No. 7 Cincinnati, they're currently the betting favorite for Saturday's matchup, even though Notre Dame hasn't lost a home game in 26 tries. Fickell, the reigning AAC Coach of the Year, owns a 34-6 record across three-plus seasons with the Bearcats, and he's quickly become one of the hottest coaching commodities. Cincinnati is led on offense by senior quarterback Desmond Ritter, who's completed 65.1-percent of his passes for 748 yards with seven touchdowns and two interceptions.
Notre Dame and Cincinnati are scheduled to kick off at 2:30 ET on Saturday. According to the William Hill Sportsbook, the Fighting Irish currently have the sixth-best odds (+3000) to win the national title, while the Bearcats have the eighth-best odds (+5000).
The entire college football conversation between Patterson and DA can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow The DA Show on Twitter @DAonCBS and @CBSSportsRadio, and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.