Independent · South Bend, Indiana
Notre Dame Football
2026 college football program hub
The short version
Notre Dame football in 2026
Notre Dame is 5-0 through 5 completed games: 5 wins, 0 losses.
Latest confirmed result: Notre Dame beat North Carolina Tar Heels, 37-26, on Saturday, October 3, 2026.
Notre Dame plays next against BYU Cougars on Saturday, October 17, 2026, on the road. Kickoff is 7:30 PM EDT. TV coverage is TBD.
Program center
Notre Dame football pages
2026 season
Independent football
5-0 current recordHead coach
Marcus Freeman
Leading the Notre Dame Fighting Irish through the 2026 season.
Program profile
South Bend, Indiana
Notre Dame
In pictures
ND on game day
Program background · Reviewed 2026-09-01
Independence, and what it costs
Notre Dame is the only independent programme covered on this site, and 2026 is a season shaped almost entirely by what that means. The Irish went 10-2 last year and did not make the twelve-team College Football Playoff. A team with the same record inside a conference can point to a division finish or a championship game; Notre Dame has nothing to point to except the results themselves.
The one blemish that mattered was the opener, a one-point defeat at Miami settled by a 47-yard field goal in the closing moments. Notre Dame then won its last ten in a row and finished the season on that streak, which is where it still stands going into September.
Program background · Reviewed 2026-09-01
A schedule assembled rather than assigned
Independence also explains the shape of the fixture list. There are six ACC opponents under a scheduling agreement, three Big Ten teams, and long-standing series with Navy, BYU and Stanford. Two of the twelve games are at neutral venues: Wisconsin at Lambeau Field in the Shamrock Series, and Navy at Gillette Stadium. Only six are actually at Notre Dame Stadium.
Marcus Freeman is 43-12 across four full seasons, having taken the 2024 team to the national championship game and a 14-2 record. He lost running back Jeremiyah Love, the Doak Walker Award winner and a Heisman finalist, as one of six players drafted in 2026, with CJ Carr returning at quarterback.
Explore
More on ND
Players
Roster
Published player records by position group, with available class years, measurements, and hometowns.
Staff
Coaches
Marcus Freeman and the published staff directory.
Numbers
Season stats
Confirmed results, points scored and allowed, and per-game scoring averages.
Archive
Program history
Championships, milestones, and the program’s history.
League
Independent
The rest of the conference and how the title race is shaping up.
Nearby
Teams in Indiana
Other programs in the same state, if you follow more than one.
FAQ
ND frequently asked questions
What is the ND 2026 football record?
Notre Dame is 5-0 through 5 completed games: 5 wins, 0 losses.
When does ND play next?
Notre Dame plays next against BYU Cougars on Saturday, October 17, 2026, on the road. Kickoff is 7:30 PM EDT. TV coverage is TBD.
Who coaches Notre Dame?
Marcus Freeman is the head coach.
What conference does ND play in?
Notre Dame competes in the Independent.
Why was Notre Dame left out of the playoff in 2025?
The Irish went 10-2 but had no conference championship to strengthen the case, since they play as an independent. Their only defeats were a one-point loss at Miami in the opener and one other, and the committee preferred teams with conference results behind them.
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