Here’s how much Notre Dame paid to lose to Marshall

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish paid a lot of money to ultimately lose to the Marshall Thundering Herd.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish entered Week 2 looking to pick up their very first win of the 2022 season. They lost 21-10 against the Ohio State Buckeyes in the season opener, but they seemingly had a solid chance of defeating the Marshall Thundering Herd.

Instead, Notre Dame lost 26-21 to Marshall to continue their fall down the AP Top 25 rankings. How could this loss get any worse for the Fighting Irish?

According to Front Office Sports, Marshall was paid $1.25 million to play Notre Dame. They got the money…and the victory.

Notre Dame paid Marshall to beat them

That is not going to make the fanbase feel any better. Sorry about that, we just report the news.

Things were looking bleak for the Fighting Irish, as they trailed 9-7 entering their locker room at halftime at Notre Dame Stadium. Yet in the second half, it seemed as though the momentum was heading in the direction of Notre Dame.

Quarterback Tyler Buchner put the Fighting Irish ahead 15-12 on a one-yard touchdown run at the start of the fourth quarter. But with over five minutes remaining in regulation, Marshall took the lead and did not look back.

The Thundering Herd took a 19-15 lead after a three-yard touchdown pass from Henry Colombi to Devin Miller. On the following drive, Steven Miller picked off Buchner and returned it 37-yards for a touchdown to take the 26-15 lead.

Fighting Irish tight end Michael Mayer caught a five-yard touchdown reception with just 12 seconds remaining, but the two-point conversion was unsuccessful, not that it would have mattered.

Notre Dame will seek to get its actual first win of the Marcus Freeman era next weekend when they take on the California Golden Bears.

For more NCAA football news, analysis, opinion and unique coverage by FanSided, including Heisman Trophy and College Football Playoff rankings, be sure to bookmark these pages.