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  • Notre Dame, BYU to meet next two seasons; USC off Irish slate

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    (Photo credit: Matt Cashore-Imagn Images)

    Notre Dame and BYU were the first two teams on the outside of the College Football Playoff this season, and the programs are beefing up their nonconference schedules for the next two seasons by playing one another.

    Both schools announced the series Monday that will see the first game played in Provo, Utah next season and the latter in South Bend, Ind., in 2027.

    Notre Dame finished 11th in the CFP rankings this season and BYU was No. 12. Miami, at No. 10, was the last at-large team to make the 12-team field.

    ‘We are excited to announce this home-and-home series between BYU and Notre Dame for the 2026 and 2027 seasons,’ BYU athletic director Brian Santiago said in a news release. ‘We have tremendous respect for Notre Dame. … These will be competitive football games, and will highlight coaches Kalani Sitake (BYU) and Marcus Freeman (Notre Dame), two of the best leaders and coaches in college football.’

    The game in Provo completes Notre Dame’s 2026 schedule, and knocks longtime rival Southern California off the schedule. Notre Dame and USC have played every season since 1946, except when the 2020 game was cancelled due to COVID-19.

    The two teams were slated to play in 2026 in Los Angeles but that contest is now off and the series is indefinitely halted.

    ‘USC and Notre Dame recognize how special our rivalry is to our fans, our teams, and college football, and our institutions will continue working towards bringing back The Battle for the Jeweled Shillelagh,’ Notre Dame and USC said in a joint statement. ‘The rivalry between our two schools is one of the best in all of sports, and we look forward to meeting again in the future.’

    According to reports, USC has expressed it no longer wants to host Notre Dame in late November and would prefer the game be played earlier in the season. Games in the series at Notre Dame typically are played in October.

    Also, USC now plays in the Big Ten and makes multiple trips to the Midwest or East and is concerned about having another long trip every other season.

    Notre Dame and BYU have played nine times with the Fighting Irish prevailing seven times. The most recent contest came in 2022 when Notre Dame beat the Cougars 28-20 in Las Vegas.

    The teams have split two meetings in Provo, while the Irish are 5-1 against the Cougars in South Bend.

    The addition of Notre Dame completes BYU’s schedules for the 2026 and 2027 seasons.

    Notre Dame (10-2) opted not to play in a bowl game after being passed over for the postseason. BYU (11-2) will face Georgia Tech (9-3) in the Pop-Tarts Bowl in Orlando on Dec. 27.

    –Field Level Media

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  • Confident UCF seeks 3rd straight win as its welcomes Oakland

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    (Photo credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images)

    Coming off a victorious road rally against a Southeastern Conference opponent, UCF will be seeking its third straight win Monday night when it hosts Oakland in Orlando, Fla.

    On Friday night in College Station, Tex., coach Johnny Dawkins’ Knights trailed by 14 points with just over a dozen minutes left in their clash with Texas A&M and new coach Bucky McMillan.

    Led by Jordan Burks’ 21 total points and Carmelo Pacheco’s 15, the Knights (3-1) stormed back and earned an 86-74 win in its second game against an SEC opponent this season. They lost 105-93 to Vanderbilt on Nov. 8.

    Games against the likes of the Aggies and Commodores, solid programs in the SEC, will surely help the Knights down the road against its Big 12 competition.

    ‘Life in the Big 12 can be tough,’ Dawkins told NBC Sports. ‘It’s very, very challenging. It’s the best basketball conference in the country. You have the best coaches in the country, the best players. It’s a situation where, every single night, I don’t care if you’re home or away, it feels like a tournament game.’

    A 6-foot-5 junior guard, Pacheco (9.3 points per game) has produced consecutive strong outings, scoring a team-high 17 in 18 minutes in a win over Florida A&M before his 15 in Texas.

    Riley Kugel leads with 18.0 points per game followed by Burks’ 13.5.

    Oakland (1-3) finally caught a break on the schedule and drubbed Defiance 113-47 last Saturday in its home opener behind Brett White II’s 18 points and 17 apiece from Brody Robinson and Tuburu Naivalurua. Nate Deer totaled 11 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

    The Golden Grizzlies led by 47 at halftime and netted 72 points in the paint.

    In their first three contests, the Horizon League school lost by double figures on the road to then-No. 7 Michigan, then-No. 1 Purdue and No. 1 Houston before finally coming home to face Defiance (Ohio), an NAIA program.

    ‘It was good to open our season and finally play at home –it’s been a tough start with one of the toughest schedules ever played,’ coach Greg Kampe said. ‘To be able to come home, play everybody a lot of minutes, get up and down and press.’

    Isaac Garrett leads with 15.2 points per game followed by Naivalurua and Ziare Wells at 13 each. Wells paces the squad with 7.2 boards.

    –Field Level Media

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  • Dragon’s Dogma 2 Is Great, The New South Park Game Isn’t, And More Of The Week’s Gaming Opinions

    Dragon’s Dogma 2 Is Great, The New South Park Game Isn’t, And More Of The Week’s Gaming Opinions

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    Image: Square Enix

    I’m filling in some gaps in my RPG history. I’ve been playing series like Final Fantasy since I was a kid, but there are countless other landmark RPGs I’ve rarely touched, including the fantasy RPG Mana series, which splintered off of Final Fantasy Adventure in 1991. The only installment in the long-running franchise I’ve played, in fact, is Children of Mana on the Nintendo DS, which I loved! Nonetheless, I’m on a journey to right my wrongs, so when I was presented with the chance to see the first mainline Mana game since 2006 at PAX East last week, I had to check it out for myself. – Moises Taveras Read More

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    Kotaku Staff

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  • Persona 3, Silent Hill, And More Of The Week’s Hottest Takes

    Persona 3, Silent Hill, And More Of The Week’s Hottest Takes

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    Image: Bandai Namco Entertainment

    Tekken 8 has been out since January 26 for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. While you might be tempted to jump straight into its online matches, which you’re not prepared for—trust me—you should check out the game’s story mode first. Not only does it introduce you to many of Tekken 8‘s characters and themes, but it also sets up a bombastic, relentlessly over-the-top narrative about breaking the chains that hold us back. And it’s a great way to acclimate yourself to some of the game’s new mechanics. This is a story mode you shouldn’t miss. – Levi Winslow Read More

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    Kotaku Staff

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  • FF7 Rebirth, TLOU 2, And More Of The Week's Essential Game Tips

    FF7 Rebirth, TLOU 2, And More Of The Week's Essential Game Tips

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    Screenshot: Naughty Dog / Kotaku

    It’s time for a second trip to Seattle in The Last of Us Part II Remastered. Originally shipped in 2020, Part II amps up the scope of the series, as well as the violence. The result is a dynamic, stealthy survival horror romp that takes place decades after a world-ending pandemic. It can be a tough game to play, and Remastered also includes a new roguelike mode for those who want an even greater challenge. – Ari Notis Read More

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    Kotaku Staff

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  • The Yakuza Devs Are Stunting On The Entire Gaming Industry

    The Yakuza Devs Are Stunting On The Entire Gaming Industry

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    We here at Kotaku get plenty of tips via email. Some are spam, others are error-filled hate messages, and a few are serious allegations that require serious investigation. So it’s refreshing when something comes in that just points us toward something breezy and cool, as was the case with a recent tip regarding the slay-the-house-down-boots fashion of the Like A Dragon: Ishin! developers, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio.

    A development subdivision of Sega whose roots trace back to 1998, Ryu Ga Gotoku (“RGG”) is a Japanese studio responsible for the 2012 third-person shooter Binary Domain. However, you’re probably more familiar with RGG’s most prominent work, the Yakuza series. Since 2012, RGG has been in charge of the action-adventure franchise, developing new mainline entries and remastering old ones while putting together spin-offs such as the Judgment series and the latest remake, Like A Dragon: Ishin!

    It’s that latter game, which was originally a 2014 Japan-only release before making its worldwide debut earlier this week, that was the topic of the tips email we got this week. Enamored with senior editor Alyssa Mercante’s “fashion callout” of The Game Awards’ bland drip, the reader (whose name we’ve decided to keep hidden) said we should check out this making-of Like A Dragon video to see some “cool suits.”

    Read More: The Best Fits At The Game Awards 2022

    “I loved The Game Awards fashion callout and follow-up article and 40 seconds into this video about Ryu Ga Gotoku making the next Like A Dragon game there is an amazing staff promo photo,” the reader said in an email to Kotaku. “I guess if you’re in charge of the Yakuza/Like A Dragon series, you’re basically obligated to wear a cool suit.” And they ain’t lying! RGG is literally stunting over the entire industry in one shot.

    SEGA Asia(EN)

    In the first episode of a multi-part series on Sega Asia’s English YouTube channel, we get a quick glance at RGG’s fashion sense. Japanese fashion is pretty captivating if you follow it. Filled with flowy silhouettes, wild colors and patterns, and an interesting blend of casual and smart aesthetics, folks in the Land of the Rising Sun know how to dress. RGG is no exception. Sure, the suits the developers wear about 40 seconds into the above video are all black, but the nuance is in the details. Two staffers have jackets with interesting markings: one with a variety of white dots and another with copious small crosses. A different staffer has a coat with tastefully accenting white lines. Three other staffers have all-over patterns, with two of the staffers’ suits having a nice sheen. If you told me this was an alternative J-Rock band and not a bunch of video game developers, I’d believe you.

    G/O Media may get a commission

    Even the developers’ boots, while nondescript on the surface, really add to the developers’ collective drip. Most in the photo have round pointed-toe, glossy-looking boots with no laces like they all just stepped off the set of The Matrix or something. Two others mix things up a little bit, with one staffer having what appears to be round lace-up boots a la Dr. Martens (though maybe not that exact brand) and another seemingly wearing some very dark, perhaps suede-looking boots. Either way, RGG’s fits are on point! I may not be the fashionista that Kotaku’s Alyssa Mercante is, but I, too, am gagging over the confident simplicity RGG exudes in their almost-matching looks. It’s dope to see, especially in an industry known for some of the most predictable (graphic-tee-and-blazer) outfit combos ever.

    Read More: Like A Dragon: Ishin!: The Kotaku Review

    Anyway, shout out to RGG for slaying the entire industry in a matter of seconds with both their killer fashion and their even more-killer samurai game, Like A Dragon: Ishin! In fact, staff writer Sisi Jiang called it “the best samurai game that you can play right now.” You should check it out.

     

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    Levi Winslow

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