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2017 Notre Dame

10–⁠3, coached by Brian Kelly, finished No. 11 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Notre Dame in 2017, game by game: won vs. Temple 49–16; lost vs. No. 15 Georgia 19–20; won at Boston College 49–20; won at Michigan State 38–18; won vs. Miami (OH) 52–17; won at North Carolina 33–10; won vs. No. 11 USC 49–14; won vs. No. 14 NC State 35–14; won vs. Wake Forest 48–37; lost at No. 7 Miami 8–41; won vs. Navy 24–17; lost at No. 20 Stanford 20–38; won vs. No. 16 LSU 21–17+35−33Won 49–16 vs. Temple+33TempleLost 19–20 vs. No. 15 Georgia-1No. 15 GeorgiaWon 49–20 at Boston College+29Boston CollegeWon 38–18 at Michigan State+20Michigan StateWon 52–17 vs. Miami (OH)+35Miami (OH)Won 33–10 at North Carolina+23North CarolinaWon 49–14 vs. No. 11 USC+35No. 11 USCWon 35–14 vs. No. 14 NC State+21No. 14 NC StateWon 48–37 vs. Wake Forest+11Wake ForestLost 8–41 at No. 7 Miami-33No. 7 MiamiWon 24–17 vs. Navy+7NavyLost 20–38 at No. 20 Stanford-18No. 20 StanfordWon 21–17 vs. No. 16 LSU+4No. 16 LSU
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsTempleW 49–⁠1652%
Sep 9vs15GeorgiaL 19–⁠2051%
Sep 16atBoston CollegeW 49–⁠2056%
Sep 23atMichigan StateW 38–⁠1848%
Sep 30vsMiami (OH)W 52–⁠1778%
Oct 7atNorth CarolinaW 33–⁠1060%
Oct 21vs11USCW 49–⁠1449%
Oct 28vs14NC StateW 35–⁠1467%
Nov 4vsWake ForestW 48–⁠3780%
Nov 11at7MiamiL 8–⁠4142%
Nov 18vsNavyW 24–⁠1775%
Nov 25at20StanfordL 20–⁠3844%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs16LSUCitrus BowlW 21–⁠1746%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat LSU 21–⁠17 in the Citrus Bowl; No. 11 in the final AP poll.

In program history: The 42nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 131 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 2: 24
  2. Wk 5: 22
  3. Wk 6: 21
  4. Wk 7: 16
  5. Wk 8: 13
  6. Wk 9: 9
  7. Wk 10: 5
  8. Wk 11: 3
  9. Wk 12: 9
  10. Wk 13: 9
  11. Wk 14: 15
  12. Wk 15: 14
  13. Final: 11

2 consensus All-AmericansMike McGlinchey, OL; Quenton Nelson, OL

Record
10–⁠3
Conference
—
AP final
No. 11 peak No. 3
Points
445–⁠279
Coach
Brian Kelly
Elo
1707 +165 this season
SP+ rating
20.8 No. 12 of 128; offense No. 18, defense No. 15, special teams No. 59
SRS
20.3 No. 7 of 130 in FBS
Returning
52% of last season’s EPA, No. 85 of 128
Recruiting class
No. 10 roster talent No. 10 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Chip Long
Defensive coordinator
Mike Elko
Captains
Josh Adams, Greer Martini, Mike McGlinchey, Nyles Morgan, Quenton Nelson, Chase Summerfield, Drue Tranquill and Austin Webster
Most valuable player
Quenton Nelson
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense17th of 130
  • Defense33rd of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted8th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted21st of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2043%1.4117th of 130
Defense0.0139%1.1533rd of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.22 off
-0.01 def		45% off
38% def		—8th off
21st def
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense3.9own 3014% allowed
Defense3.0own 3216% caused

CORE rating 13.8, 15th of 130 (offense 7.2, defense -6.7).

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsBrandon Wimbush QB1,871 yds
Passing touchdownsBrandon Wimbush QB16 TD
Rushing yardsJosh Adams RB1,430 yds
Rushing touchdownsBrandon Wimbush QB14 TD
Receiving yardsEquanimeous St. Brown WR515 yds
Receiving touchdownsKevin Stepherson WR5 TD
TacklesTe’von Coney LB107 tkl
SacksJerry Tillery DL4.5 sacks
InterceptionsJulian Love CB3 INT

Top recruits in the 2017 class

Brock Wright TE★★★★No. 71
Cole Kmet TE★★★★No. 82
Robert Hainsey OG★★★★No. 84
Josh Lugg OT★★★★No. 120
Darnell Ewell DT★★★★No. 147
Aaron Banks OT★★★★No. 166
David Adams ILB★★★★No. 232
Avery Davis DUAL★★★★No. 252

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2017 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.908
Running backs14.00.908
Receivers43.50.919
Offensive line43.80.931
Defensive line53.20.874
Linebackers33.30.879
Defensive backs23.50.885
Athletes and specialists13.00.810
Whole class213.50.895

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2018

The 2018 draft
Rd 1Quenton Nelson OGIndianapolis Colts
Rd 1Mike McGlinchey OTSan Francisco 49ers
Rd 4Durham Smythe TEMiami Dolphins
Rd 6Equanimeous St. Brown WRGreen Bay Packers

Roster 110

The 2017 roster

110 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2017 line; 59 have a stat line. See the roster