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2020 Notre Dame

10–⁠2 (9–⁠0 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Brian Kelly, finished No. 5 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Notre Dame in 2020, game by game: won vs. Duke 27–13; won vs. South Florida 52–0; won vs. Florida State 42–26; won vs. Louisville 12–7; won at Pittsburgh 45–3; won at Georgia Tech 31–13; won vs. No. 1 Clemson 47–40; won at Boston College 45–31; won at No. 25 North Carolina 31–17; won vs. Syracuse 45–21; lost vs. No. 4 Clemson 10–34; lost vs. No. 1 Alabama 14–31+52−24Won 27–13 vs. Duke+14DukeWon 52–0 vs. South Florida+52South FloridaWon 42–26 vs. Florida State+16Florida StateWon 12–7 vs. Louisville+5LouisvilleWon 45–3 at Pittsburgh+42PittsburghWon 31–13 at Georgia Tech+18Georgia TechWon 47–40 vs. No. 1 Clemson+7No. 1 ClemsonWon 45–31 at Boston College+14Boston CollegeWon 31–17 at No. 25 North Carolina+14No. 25 North CarolinaWon 45–21 vs. Syracuse+24SyracuseLost 10–34 vs. No. 4 Clemson-24No. 4 ClemsonLost 14–31 vs. No. 1 Alabama-17No. 1 Alabama
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 12vsDukeW 27–⁠1380%
Sep 19vsSouth FloridaW 52–⁠084%
Oct 10vsFlorida StateW 42–⁠2683%
Oct 17vsLouisvilleW 12–⁠785%
Oct 24atPittsburghW 45–⁠367%
Oct 31atGeorgia TechW 31–⁠1382%
Nov 7vs1ClemsonW 47–⁠4048%
Nov 14atBoston CollegeW 45–⁠3173%
Nov 27at25North CarolinaW 31–⁠1764%
Dec 5vsSyracuseW 45–⁠2195%
Dec 19vs4ClemsonACC Championship GameL 10–⁠3448%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs1AlabamaRose Bowl, CFP SemifinalL 14–⁠3137%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Alabama 31–⁠14 in the Rose Bowl, CFP Semifinal; No. 5 in the final AP poll; first in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 25th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 131 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

Butkus AwardJeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, ILB

3 consensus All-AmericansAaron Banks, OL; Liam Eichenberg, OL; Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah, ILB

Record
10–⁠2
Conference
9–⁠0 first in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
No. 5 peak No. 2
Points
401–⁠236
Coach
Brian Kelly
Elo
1757 +73 this season
SP+ rating
21.0 No. 5 of 130; offense No. 10, defense No. 11
Returning
59% of last season’s EPA, No. 79 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 17 roster talent No. 9 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Tommy Rees
Defensive coordinator
Clark Lea
Captains
Ian Book, Shaun Crawford, Robert Hainsey, Daelin Hayes and Adetokunbo Ogundeji
Most valuable player
Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠2–⁠5

How good, play by play

  • Offense27th of 127
  • Defense32nd of 127
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted19th of 127
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted26th of 127
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2045%1.2327th of 127
Defense0.0338%1.3932nd of 127
Opponent-adjusted0.19 off
0.04 def		47% off
38% def		—19th off
26th 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
Offense3.8own 2913% allowed
Defense2.8own 2522% caused

CORE rating 15.1, 13th of 127 (offense 7.1, defense -8.0).

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 yardsIan Book QB2,830 yds
Passing touchdownsIan Book QB15 TD
Rushing yardsKyren Williams RB1,125 yds
Rushing touchdownsKyren Williams RB13 TD
Receiving yardsJavon McKinley WR717 yds
Receiving touchdownsBen Skowronek WR5 TD
TacklesKyle Hamilton S63 tkl
SacksAdetokunbo Ogundeji DL7 sacks
InterceptionsBo Bauer LB1 INT

Top recruits in the 2020 class

Michael Mayer TE★★★★★No. 32
Jordan Johnson WR★★★★No. 37
Chris Tyree APB★★★★No. 70
Tosh Baker OT★★★★No. 100
Jordan Botelho ILB★★★★No. 120
Michael Carmody OT★★★★No. 146
Rylie Mills SDE★★★★No. 159
Drew Pyne PRO★★★★No. 230

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

The 2020 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.916
Running backs14.00.968
Receivers54.00.927
Offensive line24.00.945
Defensive line33.70.889
Linebackers23.00.859
Defensive backs23.00.875
Athletes and specialists23.00.840
Whole class183.60.901

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 2021

The 2021 draft
Rd 2Liam Eichenberg OTMiami Dolphins
Rd 2Aaron Banks OGSan Francisco 49ers
Rd 2Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah ILBCleveland Browns
Rd 3Tommy Tremble TECarolina Panthers
Rd 3Robert Hainsey OTTampa Bay Buccaneers
Rd 4Ian Book QBNew Orleans Saints
Rd 5Daelin Hayes DEBaltimore Ravens
Rd 5Adetokunbo Ogundeji DEAtlanta Falcons
Rd 7Ben Skowronek WRLos Angeles Rams

Roster 115

The 2020 roster

115 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2020 line; 62 have a stat line. See the roster

2020 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Notre Dame9–⁠010–⁠25
Clemson8–⁠110–⁠23
Miami7–⁠28–⁠322
North Carolina7–⁠38–⁠418
NC State7–⁠38–⁠4
Pittsburgh5–⁠56–⁠5
Boston College5–⁠56–⁠5
Virginia Tech5–⁠55–⁠6
Virginia4–⁠55–⁠5
Wake Forest3–⁠44–⁠5
Georgia Tech3–⁠63–⁠7
Louisville3–⁠74–⁠7
Florida State2–⁠63–⁠6
Duke1–⁠92–⁠9
Syracuse1–⁠91–⁠10

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.