CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2024 Notre Dame

14–⁠2, coached by Marcus Freeman, finished No. 2 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Notre Dame in 2024, game by game: won at No. 20 Texas A&M 23–13; lost vs. Northern Illinois 14–16; won at Purdue 66–7; won vs. Miami (OH) 28–3; won vs. No. 15 Louisville 31–24; won vs. Stanford 49–7; won vs. Georgia Tech 31–13; won vs. No. 24 Navy 51–14; won vs. Florida State 52–3; won vs. Virginia 35–14; won vs. No. 18 Army 49–14; won at USC 49–35; won vs. No. 9 Indiana 27–17; won vs. No. 2 Georgia 23–10; won vs. No. 5 Penn State 27–24; lost vs. No. 6 Ohio State 23–34+59−11Won 23–13 at No. 20 Texas A&M+10No. 20 Texas A&MLost 14–16 vs. Northern Illinois-2Northern Illino…Won 66–7 at Purdue+59PurdueWon 28–3 vs. Miami (OH)+25Miami (OH)Won 31–24 vs. No. 15 Louisville+7No. 15 LouisvilleWon 49–7 vs. Stanford+42StanfordWon 31–13 vs. Georgia Tech+18Georgia TechWon 51–14 vs. No. 24 Navy+37No. 24 NavyWon 52–3 vs. Florida State+49Florida StateWon 35–14 vs. Virginia+21VirginiaWon 49–14 vs. No. 18 Army+35No. 18 ArmyWon 49–35 at USC+14USCWon 27–17 vs. No. 9 Indiana+10No. 9 IndianaWon 23–10 vs. No. 2 Georgia+13No. 2 GeorgiaWon 27–24 vs. No. 5 Penn State+3No. 5 Penn StateLost 23–34 vs. No. 6 Ohio State-11No. 6 Ohio State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31at20Texas A&MW 23–⁠1359%
Sep 7vsNorthern IllinoisL 14–⁠1681%
Sep 14atPurdueW 66–⁠766%
Sep 21vsMiami (OH)W 28–⁠379%
Sep 28vs15LouisvilleW 31–⁠2468%
Oct 12vsStanfordW 49–⁠790%
Oct 19vsGeorgia TechW 31–⁠1369%
Oct 26vs24NavyW 51–⁠1471%
Nov 9vsFlorida StateW 52–⁠387%
Nov 16vsVirginiaW 35–⁠1488%
Nov 23vs18ArmyW 49–⁠1467%
Nov 30atUSCW 49–⁠3568%
Dec 20Bowls & playoffvs9IndianaCFP First RoundW 27–⁠1776%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvs2GeorgiaSugar Bowl, CFP QuarterfinalW 23–⁠1050%
Jan 9Bowls & playoffvs5Penn StateOrange Bowl, CFP SemifinalW 27–⁠2458%
Jan 20Bowls & playoffvs6Ohio StateCFP National ChampionshipL 23–⁠3450%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Ohio State 34–⁠23 in the CFP National Championship; No. 2 in the final AP poll.

In program history: The 3rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 131 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 7
  2. Wk 2: 5
  3. Wk 3: 18
  4. Wk 4: 17
  5. Wk 5: 16
  6. Wk 6: 14
  7. Wk 7: 11
  8. Wk 8: 12
  9. Wk 9: 12
  10. Wk 10: 8
  11. Wk 11: 10
  12. Wk 12: 8
  13. Wk 13: 6
  14. Wk 14: 5
  15. Wk 15: 4
  16. Wk 16: 3
  17. Final: 2

Consensus All-AmericanXavier Watts, DB

Paul “Bear” Bryant AwardMarcus Freeman, coach; also the Bobby Dodd Award

Broyles AwardAl Golden, coach

Record
14–⁠2
Conference
—
AP final
No. 2 peak No. 2
Points
578–⁠248
Coach
Marcus Freeman
Elo
1833 +172 this season
SP+ rating
23.9 No. 8 of 134; offense No. 4, defense No. 7, special teams No. 84
SRS
22.0 No. 2 of 134 in FBS
Returning
37% of last season’s EPA, No. 85 of 133
Recruiting class
No. 9 roster talent No. 10 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Mike Denbrock
Defensive coordinator
Al Golden
Captains
Jack Kiser, Riley Leonard, Rylie Mills, Benjamin Morrison and Xavier Watts
Most valuable player
Riley Leonard
Offense
Multiple
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense9th of 134
  • Defense1st of 134
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted6th of 134
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted1st of 134
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2546%1.299th of 134
Defense-0.1138%1.091st of 134
Opponent-adjusted0.25 off
-0.11 def		47% off
36% def		—6th off
1st 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
Offense4.8own 3312% allowed
Defense3.2own 2519% caused

CORE rating 35.4, 2nd of 134 (offense 12.0, defense -23.5).

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 yardsRiley Leonard QB2,861 yds
Passing touchdownsRiley Leonard QB21 TD
Rushing yardsJeremiyah Love RB1,125 yds
Rushing touchdownsJeremiyah Love RB17 TD
Receiving yardsJaden Greathouse WR592 yds
Receiving touchdownsJaden Greathouse WR4 TD
TacklesJack Kiser LB90 tkl
SacksRylie Mills DL7.5 sacks
InterceptionsXavier Watts S6 INT

Top recruits in the 2024 class

Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa LB★★★★No. 41
Guerby Lambert OT★★★★No. 46
Cam Williams WR★★★★No. 47
C.J. Carr QB★★★★No. 68
Bryce Young DL★★★★No. 73
Kedren Young RB★★★★No. 119
Tae Johnson S★★★★No. 198
Loghan Thomas DE★★★★No. 216

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

The 2024 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.969
Running backs24.00.930
Receivers43.80.919
Offensive line44.00.919
Defensive line43.50.912
Linebackers23.50.935
Defensive backs43.50.894
Athletes and specialists23.00.879
Whole class233.70.915

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 2025

The 2025 draft
Rd 2Benjamin Morrison CBTampa Bay Buccaneers
Rd 3Xavier Watts SAtlanta Falcons
Rd 4Jack Kiser LBJacksonville Jaguars
Rd 5Rylie Mills DTSeattle Seahawks
Rd 5Mitchell Evans TECarolina Panthers
Rd 6Riley Leonard QBIndianapolis Colts

Roster 121

The 2024 roster

121 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2024 line; 80 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 9

The 2024 portal
R.J. Oben DE★★★★from Duke
Riley Leonard QB★★★★from Duke
Kris Mitchell WR★★★★from Florida International
Jordan Clark S★★★from Arizona State
Rod Heard CB★★★from Northwestern
Beaux Collins WR★★★from Clemson
Jayden Harrison WR★★★from Marshall
Mitch Jeter K★★★from South Carolina
Tyler Buchner QB★★★★from Alabama

Transfers out 18

Holden Staes TE★★★★to Tennessee
Rico Flores WR★★★★to UCLA
Braylon James WR★★★★to TCU
Tobias Merriweather WR★★★★to California
Chris Tyree WR★★★to Virginia
Zeke Correll OL★★★to NC State
Joey Tanona OT★★★to Purdue
Michael Carmody OT★★★to UCLA
Nana Osafo-Mensah DL★★★to TCU
Clarence Lewis CB★★★to Syracuse
Micah Bell CB★★★to Vanderbilt
Ramon Henderson S★★★to UCLA

And 6 more, lower-rated or unrated.