This will be the first gridiron meeting between Auburn and the Fighting Irish; the two squads have met once before in both men's and women's basketball. In addition to the Tigers, Notre Dame has yet to play Kentucky and Mississippi State in football.

Auburn predicted to turn to a rising college football head coach coach after parting ways with Hugh Freeze. The Auburn Tigers parted ways with head coach Hugh Freeze on Sunday, following the team’s 10-3 loss to the Kentucky Wildcats. Freeze officially ended his tenure with the program, going 15-19 and 0-1 in bowl matchups.