Irish face a challenging yet manageable 2026 slate, from Lambeau Field to matchups against top contenders. Who will they conquer?
Notre Dame goes into preparation for the 2026 football season with tremendous expectations, and now the schedule for the Irish is finalized. It's a manageable schedule that presents challenges, but is also one that Notre Dame has the potential to handle.
Here is the final 2026 schedule and a brief rundown of each team.
NOTRE DAME 2026 FOOTBALL SCHEDULE
Sep. 6 - vs Wisconsin (Lambeau Field - Green Bay, Wis.)
Sep. 12 - Rice
Sep. 19 - Michigan State
Sep. 26 - at Purdue
Oct. 3 - at North Carolina
Oct. 10 - Stanford
Oct. 17 - at BYU
Oct. 24 - Bye Week
Oct. 31 - vs Navy (Gillette Stadium - Foxborough, Mass.)
Nov. 7 - Miami
Nov. 14 - Boston College
Nov. 21 - SMU
Nov. 28 - at Syracuse
Let's take a quick look at each team:
WISCONSIN BADGERS
Date: Sunday - September 6
Location: Lambeau Field (Green Bay, Wis.)
2025 Record: 4-8 overall / 2-7 Big Ten
Head Coach: Luke Fickell (4th season)
Last Meeting: 2021 - Notre Dame won 41-13
Notre Dame leads the all-time series 9-6-2, but this will be just the second meeting since 1964. Wisconsin enters a crucial season under head coach Luke Fickell, who needs a bounce back campaign after compiling a losing record each of the last two seasons. Wisconsin won two of their last four games, with both wins coming over ranked opponents.
RICE OWLS
Date: Saturday - September 12
Location: Notre Dame Stadium (Notre Dame, Ind.)
2025 Record: 5-8 overall / 2-6 America
Head Coach: Scott Abell (2nd season)
Last Meeting: 2014 - Notre Dame won 48-17
Notre Dame leads the all-time series 5-0, with the first meeting coming in 1915. The Irish beat Rice 54-11 back in 1988, the last time they won a national championship. Head coach Scott Abell led Rice to a bowl game in his first season at the helm, which followed four-straight winning seasons as the lead man at Davidson.
MICHIGAN STATE SPARTANS
Date: Saturday - September 19
Location: Notre Dame Stadium (Notre Dame, Ind.)
2025 Record: 4-8 overall / 1-8 Big Ten
Head Coach: Pat Fitzgerald (1st season)
Last Meeting: 2017 - Notre Dame won 38-18
Notre Dame leads the all-time series 49-29-1, with the last meeting coming in 2017. Notre Dame has won four of five in this matchup of long-time rivals. Head coach Pat Fitzgerald takes over after sitting out the last two seasons. His still of physical football is a perfect fit for what has always worked at Michigan State.
PURDUE BOILERMAKERS
Date: Saturday - September 26
Location: Ross-Ade Stadium (West Lafayette, Ind.)
2025 Record: 2-10 overall / 0-9 Big Ten
Head Coach: Barry Odom (2nd season)
Last Meeting: 2025 - Notre Dame won 56-30
Notre Dame leads the all-time series 60-26-2 and have now won 10-straight over the Boilermakers. Notre Dame outscored the Boilermakers 122-37 in the last two seasons, but head coach Barry Odom had Purdue playing more competitive football last season. Purdue has once again had to rebuild its roster through the portal but returns talented quarterback Ryan Browne.
NORTH CAROLINA TAR HEELS
Date: Saturday - October 3
Location: Kenan Memorial Stadium (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
2025 Record: 4-8 overall / 2-6 ACC
Head Coach: Bill Belichick (2nd season)
Last Meeting: 2022 - Notre Dame won 45-32
Notre Dame leads the all-time series 21-2, with the Irish winning three straight games from 2020-22. Head coach Bill Belichick won seven Super Bowls leading the Patriots, but his first season in Chapel Hill didn't go to plan. North Carolina did have a strong portal class this offseason and will look to bounce back in season two.
STANFORD CARDINAL
Date: Saturday - October 10
Location: Notre Dame Stadium (Notre Dame, Ind.)
2025 Record: 4-8 overall / 3-5 ACC
Head Coach: Tavita Pritchard (1st season)
Last Meeting: 2025 - Notre Dame won 49-20
Notre Dame leads the all-time series 25-14 and have won six of the last seven matchups, including the last three by an average margin of 34.7 points. Former Stanford quarterback Tavita Pritchard is the new head coach, but he'll need time to rebuild a relatively depleted roster.
BYU COUGARS
Date: Saturday - October 17
Location: LaVell Edwards Stadium (Provo, Utah)
2025 Record: 12-2 overall / 8-1 Big 12
Head Coach: Kalani Sitake (11th season)
Last Meeting: 2022 - Notre Dame won 28-20
Notre Dame leads the all-time series 7-2, with the most recent matchup being the game played in Las Vegas back in 2022. Notre Dame lost to the Cougars the last time they made the trip to Provo, which was back in 2004 (20-17). Kalani Sitake has led BYU to a 23-4 record the last two seasons, with the Cougars finishing 13th and 11th in the last two seasons.
NAVY MIDSHIPMEN
Date: Saturday - October 31
Location: Gillette Stadium (Foxborough, Mass.)
2025 Record: 11-2 overall / 7-1 American
Head Coach: Brian Newberry (4th season)
Last Meeting: 2025 - Notre Dame won 49-10
Notre Dame leads the all-time series 84-13-1, with the Irish winning the last eight games and 13 of the last 14. Head coach Brian Newberry has led Navy to a 21-5 record the last two seasons and the Midshipmen finished last season ranked No. 23 in the polls. Navy will have to replace big-time quarterback Blake Horvath.
MIAMI HURRICANES
Date: Saturday - November 7
Location: Notre Dame Stadium (Notre Dame, Ind.)
2025 Record: 13-3 overall / 6-2 ACC
Head Coach: Mario Cristobal (5th season)
Last Meeting: 2025 - Miami won 27-24
Notre Dame leads the all-time series 18-9-1, with Miami winning the last two matchups (2025, 2017). The Irish won the last matchup in South Bend, which came back in 2016. Miami and Notre Dame are the last two national runners up, with both advancing to the title game before falling to a Big Ten foe. Miami will be loaded once again in 2026 despite some key losses.
BOSTON COLLEGE EAGLES
Date: Saturday - November 14
Location: Notre Dame Stadium (Notre Dame, Ind.)
2025 Record: 2-10 overall / 1-7 ACC
Head Coach: Bill O'Brien (3rd season)
Last Meeting: 2025 - Notre Dame won 25-10
Notre Dame leads the all-time series 19-9, with the Irish winning the last 10 games. The last five games have been by 14 points or more. The last time BC beat the Irish in South Bend was 2007, but the Irish have won four straight at home. Head coach Bill O'Brien's seat is a little bit warmer after going just 2-10 last season.
SMU MUSTANGS
Date: Saturday - November 21
Location: Notre Dame Stadium (Notre Dame, Ind.)
2025 Record: 9-4 overall / 6-2 ACC
Head Coach: Rhett Lashlee (5th season)
Last Meeting: 1989 - Notre Dame won 59-6
Notre Dame leads the all-time series 10-3 but the two teams have not played since 1989. That was SMU's first season of football after missing two seasons due to the NCAA "death penalty." Rhett Lashlee has led the Mustangs to a 31-10 record the last three seasons and led SMU to the 2024 College Football Playoffs.
SYRACUSE ORANGE
Date: Saturday - November 28
Location: JMA Wireless Dome (Syracuse, N.Y.)
2025 Record: 3-9 overall / 1-7 ACC
Head Coach: Fran Brown (3rd season)
Last Meeting: 2025 - Notre Dame won 70-7
Notre Dame leads the all-time series 9-3 and have won the last six straight games, with all coming by double figures. The Irish have beaten Syracuse by an average of 45.5 to 17.2 during its current win streak. Syracuse head coach Fran Brown went 10-3 in his first year in charge, but injuries decimated the Orange and they lost their last seven games of the 2025 season.
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