The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have finalized their 2026 football schedule, the school announced Friday.
Notre Dame’s slate opens on Sunday, September 6 with Wisconsin at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, marking the program’s latest appearance at an NFL venue. The Irish then host consecutive games at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Ind., against Rice on Sept. 12 and Michigan State on Sept. 19, continuing long‑running series with both programs.
The first road stretch begins Sept. 26 at Purdue, followed by an October 3 trip to North Carolina. Notre Dame then hosts Stanford on Oct. 10 before traveling to BYU on Oct. 17, a matchup that extends the schools’ intermittent series. The team is idle on Oct. 24.
A second neutral‑site game follows on Oct. 31, when Notre Dame meets Navy in Foxborough, Mass. The Irish then enter November with consecutive home games against Miami (FL) on Nov. 7, Boston College on Nov. 14, and SMU on Nov. 21.
The regular season concludes Nov. 28 with a road trip to Syracuse, the program’s final scheduled game before postseason play.
Below is Notre Dame’s complete schedule for the 2026 season, plus a link to their schedule page which will be updated with kickoff times and TV as they are announced:
2026 Notre Dame Football Schedule
09/06 – vs Wisconsin (in Green Bay, WI)
09/12 – Rice
09/19 – Michigan State
09/26 – at Purdue
10/03 – at North Carolina
10/10 – Stanford
10/17 – at BYU
10/24 – OFF
10/31 – vs Navy (in Foxborough, MA)
11/07 – Miami (FL)
11/14 – Boston College
11/21 – SMU
11/28 – at Syracuse
Kickoff times and television coverage for Notre Dame’s home football games will be announced this spring. All Notre Dame home games are broadcast by NBC, with one game per season streaming exclusively via Peacock.
It remains a crime against football that Notre Dame cancelled the USC series.
ND didn’t cancel the series, John. But they also couldn’t wait until Thanksgiving Saturday morning 2026 to see if Jen Cohen would sign the contract for a game later that day.
LOL. ND absolutely cancelled the series. If it wasn’t exactly what they wanted, they were out. They don’t understand that USC needs a B10 scheduling partner to play an OOC game the same week. And if that game is the last week of the season, NO B10 WANTS TO PLAY AN OOC game at end of season. Idk why it’s so hard for people to understand that.
Jesper. I neither know nor care who Jen Cohen is. What I do care about is Notre Dame cancelling their biggest rivalry out of cowardice.
The idea that USC expects Notre Dame to play all their games in September, or re-arrange their schedule at USC’s command is absurd.. Notre Dame can play no more games in September than any other team. USC created their scheduling difficulty by switching to a conference that will not accommodate this annual rivalry. And let’s face it – Lincoln Riley gets what he wants here – in all probability, USC will not play a P4 non-conference game in 2026 and so far, the Trojans have none scheduled for 2027 or 28.
Notre Dame is going to find scheduling more difficult in future years. The ACC and SEC schools transitioning to 9 conference games means about 34 non-conference games under the earlier 8-game model are now conference games. This impacts the guarantee game market, but also reduces P4 game opportunities for Notre Dame.
Further, Indiana just won a national title playing this non-conference schedule: Old Dominion, Kennesaw State Indiana State. Why play Notre Dame?
At least Notre Dame cancelling USC means UCLA-USC EVERY Thanksgiving weekend which is fantastic news for Big Ten.
Michigan State 9/19 & Miami 11/7 Are my co-educated guess for Notre Dame home games under the lights for 2026 season.
96 games played and Notre Dame leads the all-time series 53-38-5. It doesn’t look like either one is cowardly about playing against the other, but Notre Dame sure doesn’t have a reason to fear playing. USC is as much at fault for these teams not playing as Notre Dame. It’s not up to Notre Dame to work around the one opening that USC will leave for the game to be played because the Trojans have to accommodate a 9 game conference schedule.
John, Jen Cohen is the USC Athletic Director who was gaslighting ND about signing a series extension. If you don’t know whom she is, then you haven’t followed the situation closely enough to be pointing your finger at the Irish.
Neither team “canceled” the series. The contract was up, and they couldn’t agree on terms. As I recall (and please feel free to correct me on this) USC wanted a short term contract, with the games always in September, rather than the game in LA every other year being on Thanksgiving weekend. Notre Dame wanted a long term contract with the game in LA to still be played Thanksgiving weekend. I’m not a fan of either team, but Notre Dame has to realize that asking USC to continue playing a game in LA every other Thanksgiving weekend just wasn’t going to happen anymore since USC joined the Big Ten. At least Notre Dame can continue playing Stanford out on the west coast every other year (unless the ACC puts the kibosh on that).
You have to applaud the Irish, as usual, for not scheduling any FCS teams.
They have played FCS teams in the past—not many, but Tennessee State or Tennessee Tech was one for sure.
Why would I applaud a program that is as snobby and elitist as Notre Dame is?
Actually, I applaud Notre Dame for halting USC series however real winner is Big Ten because they want ALL conferences games on Thanksgiving rivalry weekend.
Should Notre-Dame-USC restarts series first three or four weeks of CFB season is a much better fit.
When they did, it was an HBCU. That infused the guarantee $ into Tennessee State Athletics, and is helping them to start the first D1 college hockey program at an HBCU.
Notre Dame is losing to BYU and Miami.
This is assuming Miami gets Darian Mensah which I think they will.
They will say they are playing the big ten 3 games but it’s 3 bad teams.
10 P4 games, what more do you want them to do?
NOBODY, and I mean, NOBODY else in the nation would play this schedule.
Additionally…
They didn’t cancel the USC series any more than USC did.
I’m not sure how significant that it is they have only played one FCS team ever. But Rice, and many years Navy, are pretty close substitutes who would both probably lose to the top 5 FCS teams.
They won’t lose to Brigham Young or Miami (FL).
The entire ACC and SEC will both begin playing 10 power opponents minimum in 2026.
But Kevin, most of them also play an FCS team. USC has never played an FCS team, but there aren’t many teams that can claim that and when Notre Dame played Tennessee State it was because they had to fill that date in late.
If they don’t go at least 11-1 with this schedule it will be a disappointment.
They´re losing to BYU and Miami.
Can´t wait for Notre Dame to once again prove why they´re the most overrated program in America.
BYU proved that by losing to Texas Tech twice.
This is three times you’ve posted the same thing. Want to give it a rest?
Good news that you’ll get a chance to prove it in the trenches …. and on your patch, too.
Not my fault I despise Notre Dame.
Notre Dame is a has been. They’re not even the best team in the Hoosier State anymore
There is no shame in being second to the national champions. Whether it was Tulane or JMU that should have been left out of the playoffs, we’ll never know how UND would have done in the playoffs because they got shafted.
Preach John Preach!!!!!
Bowl eligible at 6-6 or 7-5. I ranked
USC’s rival is UCLA. ND only plays 4 teams with winning records. This is a MAC team schedule.
Ucla wishes anymore. USC-Oregon has mattered more for 20 years.
David Excellent to see Oregon-USC rivalry still going now in Big Ten.
ND v Syracuse, Thanksgiving Weekend
means
BC at SMU and Pitt at Miami, Thanksgiving Weekend
because all others will play traditional rivals.
Excellent setting for ACC for Thanksgiving rivalry weekend.
32 comments? DAMMMMMMMMMMMMN
Notre Dame’s arrogance and cowardice have made a lot of people very angry at them.
This Big Ten fan is happy that Notre Dame did not want to play USC anymore plus Big Ten is pleased with it.
The B1G should learn from the SEC-ACC rivalries that not only does it settle the conference championship sooner and simplify bowl planning, but that the games are event TV. Obv, just like Auburn-Bama and Ole Miss-State aren’t ever moving, tOSU-Xichigan wouldn’t… But some last week B1G games similar would allow for:
USC-Notre Dame
Penn St-Pitt
Nebraska-Oklahoma
Illinois-Missouri
Oregon-Oregon St
Washington-Wazzu
to be last week OOC games…
David They would be perfect for first four weeks of CFB season & remember Big Ten really wants all conference games especially Michigan-Ohio State, Illinois-Northwestern & UCLA-USC on Thanksgiving rivalry weekend.
The easiest, and smartest solution, to the ACC’s 9-game scheduling problem with 17 schools in the conference is to have the 5 games against Notre Dame that is part of the ACC-Notre Dame agreement count as conference games. Those 5 schools that play Notre Dame as part of the ACC-Notre Dame agreement would play 8 additional ACC conference games, while the other 12 schools play 9 conference games. That is a mathematical solution to the scheduling problem. During the 1950s and 1960s some SEC teams had games against teams outside the SEC count as conference games. The 1958 Ole Miss 56-7 win over Houston is an example.
Cupcake Ahhh Schedule 🧁