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2026 Notre Dame

6–⁠1, coached by Marcus Freeman. The season’s Wikipedia article records 6–⁠0, over six games to the seven on file here.

Schedule and results

Notre Dame in 2026, game by game: won vs. Wisconsin 41–13; won vs. Rice 52–0; won vs. Michigan State 27–10; won at Purdue 49–10; won at North Carolina 37–26; won vs. Stanford 58–7; lost at No. 8 BYU 24–28+52−4Won 41–13 vs. Wisconsin+28WisconsinWon 52–0 vs. Rice+52RiceWon 27–10 vs. Michigan State+17Michigan StateWon 49–10 at Purdue+39PurdueWon 37–26 at North Carolina+11North CarolinaWon 58–7 vs. Stanford+51StanfordLost 24–28 at No. 8 BYU-4No. 8 BYU
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 6vsWisconsinW 41–⁠1379%
Sep 12vsRiceW 52–⁠089%
Sep 19vsMichigan StateW 27–⁠1085%
Sep 26atPurdueW 49–⁠1085%
Oct 3atNorth CarolinaW 37–⁠2678%
Oct 10vsStanfordW 58–⁠790%
Oct 17at8BYUL 24–⁠2851%
Oct 31vsNavyPreview78%
Nov 7vsMiamiPreview56%
Nov 14vsBoston CollegePreview89%
Nov 21vsSMUPreview70%
Nov 28atSyracusePreview84%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 4
  2. Wk 2: 3
  3. Wk 3: 3
  4. Wk 4: 3
  5. Wk 5: 3
  6. Wk 6: 3
  7. Wk 7: 2
Record
6–⁠1
Conference
—
AP now
No. 2 in the week 7 poll; peak No. 2
Points
288–⁠94
Coach
Marcus Freeman
Elo
1752 +38 this season
SP+ rating
28.0 No. 3 of 138; offense No. 2, defense No. 6, special teams No. 29
SRS
24.7 No. 2 of 138 in FBS
Returning
51% of last season’s EPA, No. 54 of 136
Recruiting class
No. 5 roster talent No. 6 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Mike Denbrock
Defensive coordinators
Chris Ash and Aaron Henry
Captains
Drayk Bowen, C.J. Carr, Jordan Faison and Adon Shuler

How good, play by play

  • Offense1st of 138
  • Defense12th of 138
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted3rd of 138
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted6th of 138
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.3451%1.171st of 138
Defense-0.0536%1.2412th of 138
Opponent-adjusted0.26 off
-0.01 def		51% off
35% def		—3rd off
6th def

Passing and running

Pass successDepth of targetDeep throwsLine yardsStuffed
Offense53%9.6 yds20%3.4012%
Defense44%7.7 yds6%2.6020%
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. Passing and running: depth of target is how far downfield passes traveled in the air; deep throws are the share thrown deep, of the passes whose depth and direction the play-by-play describes (about half); line yards are the running yards per carry credited to the blockers; stuffed is the share of carries stopped at or behind the line. The defense’s line is what its opponents did. From CollegeFootballData.com, 2025 on.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense5.1own 3110% allowed
Defense3.3own 2521% caused

CORE rating 35.0, 1st of 138 (offense 16.6, defense -18.4).

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 yardsC.J. Carr QB1,639 yds
Passing touchdownsC.J. Carr QB16 TD
Rushing yardsJonaz Walton RB426 yds
Rushing touchdownsNolan James Jr. RB6 TD
Receiving yardsJordan Faison WR451 yds
Receiving touchdownsJordan Faison WR4 TD
TacklesDrayk Bowen LB38 tkl
SacksBoubacar Traore DL3.5 sacks
InterceptionsLuke Talich S2 INT

Top recruits in the 2026 class

Rodney Dunham DE★★★★★No. 7
Ian Premer TE★★★★★No. 21
Khary Adams CB★★★★★No. 24
Joey O’Brien S★★★★★No. 28
Ayden Pouncey S★★★★No. 78
Javian Osborne RB★★★★No. 118
Jonaz Walton RB★★★★No. 128
Ebenezer Ewetade DE★★★★No. 130

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

The 2026 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks24.00.905
Running backs24.00.949
Receivers74.00.917
Offensive line63.80.916
Defensive line44.30.943
Linebackers23.50.900
Defensive backs54.20.947
Athletes and specialists23.00.823
Whole class303.90.919

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.

Roster 113

The 2026 roster

113 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2026 line; 65 have a stat line. See the roster

Transfers in 7

The 2026 portal
Francis Brewu DL★★★★from Pittsburgh
Quincy Porter WR★★★★from Ohio State
Tionne Gray DL★★★★from Oregon
Keon Keeley DL★★★★from Alabama
Jayden Sanders CB★★★★from Michigan
Dylahn McKinney CB★★★★from Colorado
Mylan Graham WR★★★★from Ohio State

Transfers out 16

Kenny Minchey QB★★★★to Kentucky
Joshua Burnham DE★★★to Indiana
Cree Thomas CB★★★to Colorado
Jadon Blair S★★★to Missouri
Karson Hobbs CB★★★to Florida State
Scrap Richardson WR★★★to Auburn
Anthony Sacca LB★★★to UCLA
K.K. Smith WR★★★to Michigan State
Bodie Kahoun LB★★★to Boston College
Gi’Bran Payne RB★★★to Cincinnati
Preston Zinter DE★★★to Rice
Taebron Bennie-Powell S★★★to Boise State

And 4 more, lower-rated or unrated.