A Notre Dame source tells me that the 'Fighting Irish" will indeed go back to their roots and wear green against Army when they meet them on November 20th in Yankee Stadium.

The Irish will come prepared, wearing their green uniforms, a throwback to the Knute Rockne and Frank Leahy days when green was worn to put the fear of God into opposition teams and show that Notre Dame meant business.

Leahy, perhaps because of his Irish heritage, had the team wear the green jerseys more often than not.

The game against Army, the team that dominated college football until Knute Rockne came along with his Notre Dame underdogs, is a deeply symbolic one which is why the Irish will likely be decked out in green.

It is also a homage to the New York area, where the term 'subway alumni' first became popular and a recognition of how many Irish Americans on the East Coast follow the Fighting Irish.

No to mention the fact that Brian Kelly is a very proud Irishman himself and will be more than ready to don the green when the occasion fits

The most famous "wearing of the green" was when Note Dame faced Navy in 1927 in Baltimore. Rockne started his second stringers and Navy scored a touchdown right away. What happened next is described by George Trevor in the New York Sun:

"Instantaneously, the Notre Dame regulars yanked off their blue outer sweaters and - like a horde of green Gila monsters - darted onto the field. From that moment on, Notre Dame held the initiative, imposed its collective will upon the Navy."

In 1928 against Navy the Irish wore green again.

"K.K. Rockne may, or may not, be a psychologist. But, he did array his team in bright green jerseys for their battle with the United States Naval Academy. Mr Rockne evidently surmised that garbing a band of native and adopted Irish in their native color is somewhat akin to showing a bull the Russian flag," a local scribe wrote.

In 1977 against USC coach Dan Devine kept the green jerseys a closely guarded secret until the last moment in a game filled with pre-match tension and the memories of a USC thumping victory 55-24 in 1974.

The green jerseys ignited the team and they won 49-16, wore the jerseys the rest of the way and won the national title defeating Texas 38-10 in the Cotton Bowl and a guy called Joe Montana was quarterback.

Gerry Faust used green jerseys for victories over USC in 1983 and '85 (the team switched to green during halftime of the '85 game).

Lou Holtz wore green twice in his time as coach , leading the team to a 1992 Sugar Bowl victory over Florida The team wore green in a 35-28 loss to Georgia Tech for the 1999 Gator Bowl while Tyrone Willingham's 2002 team wore green in a 14-7 loss to Boston College. Under Charlie Weis the team also wore green twice