Notre Dame opens 2026 ranked No. 4 with a schedule full of firsts and lasts: a Sunday opener against Wisconsin at Lambeau Field, the first leg of a new BYU home-and-home replacing the paused USC series, Navy at Gillette Stadium, and Miami’s first November trip to South Bend since 1976.
Here’s every date on the Irish slate. Kick times mostly land 6-12 days out, so this page fills in as the season goes.
2026 TEAM SCHEDULE
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Independence, with a clear playoff path
PRESEASON RANK
No. 4
Top-12 finish now guarantees a CFP bid
THE OPENER
Sun, Sept. 6
Wisconsin at Lambeau Field, 7:30 ET (NBC)
TRUE ROAD GAMES
Only 4
Purdue, UNC, BYU and Syracuse
THE HEADLINER
Nov. 7
Miami’s first November visit since 1976
The full 2026 schedule
Home games at Notre Dame Stadium; rankings are preseason AP
| Date |
Opponent |
Time / Result |
| Sun, Sept. 6 |
vs. Wisconsin (Lambeau Field) |
7:30 p.m. ET, NBC |
| Sat, Sept. 12 |
vs. Rice |
TBA |
| Sat, Sept. 19 |
vs. Michigan State |
TBA |
| Sat, Sept. 26 |
at Purdue |
TBA |
| Sat, Oct. 3 |
at North Carolina |
TBA |
| Sat, Oct. 10 |
vs. Stanford |
TBA |
| Sat, Oct. 17 |
at No. 14 BYU |
TBA |
| Sat, Oct. 24 |
Bye week |
– |
| Sat, Oct. 31 |
vs. Navy (Gillette Stadium) |
TBA |
| Sat, Nov. 7 |
vs. No. 7 Miami |
TBA |
| Sat, Nov. 14 |
vs. Boston College |
TBA |
| Sat, Nov. 21 |
vs. No. 19 SMU |
TBA |
| Sat, Nov. 28 |
at Syracuse |
TBA |
The games that will decide the season
Circle these four
| Game |
The stakes |
| Miami, Nov. 7 |
The season’s marquee home game – a top-10 Hurricanes team in South Bend in November for the first time in fifty years, with playoff seeding on the line |
| At BYU, Oct. 17 |
The new series’ first leg in Provo – two programs that were the last teams out of last year’s playoff, now settling it directly |
| Wisconsin at Lambeau, Sept. 6 |
A Sunday-night Shamrock Series opener at football’s most historic address – Rockne’s shadow meets Curly Lambeau’s |
| SMU, Nov. 21 |
A ranked November visitor sandwiched into the closing stretch – the trap the committee will be watching |
SCHEDULE FACTS
No USC for the first time in decades
The Jeweled Shillelagh rivalry is paused over scheduling disputes – the BYU home-and-home fills the slot, and both schools say they want the rivalry back.
Six straight road openers
The Lambeau trip makes it six consecutive seasons opening away from South Bend – the longest such stretch in program history.
Five trophy games
Megaphone (Michigan State), Shillelagh (Purdue), Legends (Stanford), the Navy rivalry’s 99th meeting and more – independence keeps the hardware calendar full.
Independence With a Guarantee
New for 2026: finish anywhere in the CFP’s final top 12 and Notre Dame’s at-large bid is automatic – which makes a schedule with only four true road games and two ranked home dates a structural gift. How that guarantee slots into the bracket is covered in how the College Football Playoff works. The independent’s calendar answers only to the NCAA.
The Bottom Line
Lambeau on a Sunday, Provo in October, Navy in Foxborough and Miami’s first November visit in fifty years – Notre Dame’s 2026 schedule trades the USC rivalry for a BYU grudge match and hands a No. 4 team one of the sport’s cleanest playoff paths.
