Iowa State vs. Kansas State on Aug. 23 in Dublin, Ireland will mark the fourth consecutive season of a college football game being played in the Emerald Isle.
Take a look at the history of college football in Ireland:
Emerald Isle Classic
The first ever college football matchup in Ireland took place on Nov. 19, 1988. In a promotional game to celebrate Dublin's 1,000th year since its founding, Boston College and Army drew a crowd of over 42,000 to rugby stadium Lansdowne Road.
Dubbed the "Emerald Isle Classic," Boston College (2-7) defeated the heavily favorited wishbone offense Army Black Knights (9-1), 38-24.
Slightly over a year later, the Emerald Isle Classic would make a return as Pitt trounced Rutgers 46-29. After only luring 19,000 fans compared to the sell out in 1988, this marked the end of the "annual" Emerald Isle Classic.
Wild Geese Classic
Division I-AA teams Holy Cross and Fordham faced off at the Gaelic Grounds in Limerick on Nov. 16, 1991. The "Wild Geese Classic" was played to commemorate the 300th anniversary of the Flight of the Wild Geese of 1691. The term "Wild Geese" is used in Ireland to refer to their soldiers.
12,000 people witnessed Holy Cross squeak by Fordham 24-19 to set a Division I-AA record with their 19th consecutive victory.
Shamrock Classic
College football didn't return to Ireland until Nov. 2, 1996 when the Notre Dame Fighting Irish matched up with Navy at Croke Park in Dublin.
The fixture was named the "Shamrock Classic" and the Fighting Irish knocked off Navy 54-27. This victory marked the 33rd straight year Notre Dame topped Navy, which set a college football record for the longest win streak over an annual opponent.
"This has been a wonderful experience," Hall of Fame coach Lou Holtz said postgame. "I've asked the players to write a journal about what they experienced, to keep and think about in years to come."
There was a 16-year hiatus of football in Ireland until Notre Dame and Navy returned Sep. 1, 2012.
The game was a part of a tourism initiative which hoped to attract Americans with Irish ancestry to Ireland.
Safe to say the campaign was successful as there were over 49,000 attendees, including 35,000 who travelled from the USA. 15,000 tickets were sold in the first two hours and it was the first advance sellout in the short history of Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
The game itself wasn't exciting, Notre Dame won 50-10, but the fans were engaged and the game contributed €100 million to Ireland's economy.
Croke Park Classic
On Aug. 30, 2014 the UCF Golden Knights faced off against the Penn State Nittany Lions in what was Ireland's most exciting game to date.
53,304 fans visited Croke Park to watch Penn State defeat UCF in a thrilling finish that saw Nittany Lions kicker Sam Ficken nail a 36-yard field goal to win it 26-24 as time expired.
Penn State quarterback Christian Hackenberg put a monstrous 32-for-47, 454-yard performance while receivers Geno Lewis and Daesean Hamilton combined for 338 receiving yards.
Aer Lingus College Football Classic
Every game starting since Sep 3. 2016 has been a part of the Aer Lingus College Football Classic.
In 2016, Boston College vs. Georgia Tech was played at Aviva Stadium and attracted more than 40,000 spectators.
Georgia Tech was victorious, winning 17-14 after a touchdown by running back Dedrick Mills gave the Jackets the lead with 35 seconds left. This was Tech's first game played outside of the United States in its 124-year program history.
COVID derailed a 2020 matchup between Notre Dame and Navy, and a 2021 matchup between Nebraska and Illinois.
In 2022, football returned on Aug. 27 and there has been a game played every year since.
- 2022: Northwestern 31, Nebraska 28
- 2023: Notre Dame 42, Navy 3
- 2024: Georgia Tech 24, Florida State 21
Georgia Tech knocked off No. 10 ranked Florida State on a field goal as time expired, marking the third time that the winning team scored in the final minute to take the lead in the 11 games that have taken place in Ireland.
On Aug. 23 at 2 PM ET, the first Ireland game where both teams are ranked in the Top 25 will take place in Dublin. No. 22 Iowa State squares off with Big-12 foe No. 17 Kansas State.
KSU is favored by -3.5 on bet365, and Iowa State is +145 on the money line.
Each team will hope for some magic and luck to be on their side in the fifth rendition of the Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Ireland.
Odds displayed within this article were correct at the time of writing and are subject to change.
