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Police bring safety reminders before ND-IU playoff game

Crews build the ESPN GameDay set Wednesday outside of Notre Dame Stadium, in preparation for Friday's 8 p.m. College Football Playoff First Round game against Indiana University.
Jeff Parrott/WVPE
Crews build the ESPN GameDay set Wednesday outside of Notre Dame Stadium, in preparation for Friday's 8 p.m. College Football Playoff First Round game against Indiana University.

With just two days before their College Football Playoff game, Notre Dame and Indiana fans are ready to party. Police say they’re excited too but they’re also urging people to be safe.

The 8 p.m. game is expected to draw thousands of visitors, not to the stadium but to bars, restaurants, neighborhoods, campus and the streets.

With safety in mind, on Wednesday city, county and campus police held a press conference at Notre Dame Stadium. Traffic handling won’t change from regular home games, and tailgating, like always, won’t be allowed during the game but will be allowed before and after.

Temperatures will dip into the 20s with snow forecast. Campus police won’t allow tailgaters to warm themselves with an open flame, propane or charcoal.

To reduce traffic, the university is asking its non-essential employees to work from home Friday.

As usual, before the game, roads will be one-way toward campus from 4 to 6:30 p.m., and will reverse after the game.

"With the weather that's potentially coming, make sure that you leave with plenty of time, take it slow, look for the officers that might be in the roadway directing traffic," said Lieutenant Brad Rohrscheib, who oversees traffic and special events for South Bend police. "The South Bend Police Department is very excited to be a part of this historic event at Notre Dame. We're going to help make this a very safe and enjoyable event for everyone involved, on campus and around campus."

Parrott, a longtime public radio fan, comes to WVPE with about 25 years of journalism experience at newspapers in Indiana and Michigan, including 13 years at The South Bend Tribune. He and Kristi have two children currently attending Indiana University in Bloomington. In his free time he enjoys fixing up their home, following his favorite college and professional sports teams, and watching TV (yes that's an acceptable hobby).