2020 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

2020 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
ACC Championship Game, L 10–34 vs. Clemson
Rose Bowl (CFP Semifinal), L 14–31 vs. Alabama
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 5
AP	No. 5
2020 record	10–2 (9–0 ACC)
Head coach	Brian Kelly (11th season)
Offensive coordinator	Tommy Rees (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Clark Lea (3rd season)
Base defense	4–2–5
Home stadium	Notre Dame Stadium (Capacity: 77,622)(Limited Capacity due to COVID-19 Restrictions)
Uniform
Seasons ← 2019 2021 →

2020 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
v t	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 5 Notre Dame y^		9	–	0					10	–	2
No. 3 Clemson y$^		8	–	1					10	–	2
No. 22 Miami (FL)		7	–	2					8	–	3
No. 18 North Carolina		7	–	3					8	–	4
NC State		7	–	3					8	–	4
Boston College		5	–	5					6	–	5
Pittsburgh		5	–	5					6	–	5
Virginia Tech		5	–	5					5	–	6
Virginia		4	–	5					5	–	5
Wake Forest		3	–	4					4	–	5
Georgia Tech		3	–	6					3	–	7
Louisville		3	–	7					4	–	7
Florida State		2	–	6					3	–	6
Duke		1	–	9					2	–	9
Syracuse		1	–	9					1	–	10
Championship: Clemson 34, Notre Dame 10
^ – College Football Playoff participant $ – Conference champion y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll.

The 2020 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was led by Brian Kelly in his 11th season at Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish played their home games at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana.

Because the Power Five conferences enforced restrictions on non-conference games in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Notre Dame played a full Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) schedule for the 2020 season (expanding upon an existing relationship in all other sports besides football and ice hockey). This was the first season in several decades that Notre Dame did not play its traditional intersectional rivalry games against Navy (previously played every season since 1927), USC (since 1946), or Stanford (since 1997).

After the cancellation of the Wake Forest game scheduled for December 12 by the ACC, due to an evaluation of the three teams in contention to play in the ACC Championship Game,^[1] Notre Dame clinched a spot in the ACC Championship Game, which they went on to lose to Clemson.

The Fighting Irish were subsequently ranked fourth in the final College Football Playoff (CFP) rankings, securing a spot in the Rose Bowl, a CFP semifinal game, against top–ranked Alabama. Notre Dame lost to Alabama on New Year's Day, the eventual national champion, ending the season with a 10–2 record.

Previous season[]

The 2019 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team finished 11–2 on the season with a 33–9 victory over Iowa State in the Camping World Bowl in Orlando, Florida. They finished at No. 12 in the final AP Poll of the 2019 season.

Coaching changes[]

Chip Long, former offensive coordinator of the Fighting Irish, was relieved of his duties by Notre Dame and became an offensive analyst at University of Tennessee.

Offseason[]

Departures[]

• TE Cole Kmet (drafted by the Chicago Bears)
• WR Chase Claypool (drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers)
• LB Julian Okwara (drafted by the Detroit Lions)
• CB Troy Pride (drafted by the Carolina Panthers)
• LB Khalid Kareem (drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals)
• S Alohi Gilman (drafted by the Los Angeles Chargers)
• RB Tony Jones Jr. (signed by the New Orleans Saints)
• WR Chris Finke (signed by the San Francisco 49ers)
• S Jalen Elliott (signed by the Detroit Lions)
• LB Jamir Jones (signed by the Houston Texans)
• LB Asmar Bilal (signed by the Los Angeles Chargers)
• CB Donte' Vaughn (signed by the Los Angeles Chargers)
• QB Phil Jurkovec (Transferred to Boston College)
• WR Michael Young Jr. (Transferred to the University of Cincinnati)
• LB Jonathan Jones (entered transfer portal)
• CB Temitope Agoro (entered transfer portal)

Schedule[]

The 2020 schedule was officially released on December 7, 2017.^[2]

Due to suspensions of athletic programs nationwide as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the team called off the 2020 edition of its spring Blue-Gold Game.^[3] The Emerald Isle Classic game against Navy at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland was tentatively rescheduled for Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland,^[4] and three games were scrapped after the Big Ten and Pac-12 elected to restrict play to conference opponents only. This included a game scheduled against Wisconsin on October 3 (which was to be played at Lambeau Field in Green Bay as a Shamrock Series game),^[5] the team's rivalry game against Stanford, and the team's rivalry game against USC (resulting in its postponement for the first time since World War II).^[6][7]

In regards to replacing the canceled games, head coach Brian Kelly told ESPN's Mike Greenberg that "our phone is ringing off the hook right now in terms of teams looking for games", and that Notre Dame athletics director Jack Swarbrick had been communicating with ACC commissioner John Swofford; as per its membership in most other sports, Notre Dame typically plays five games against ACC opponents per-season.^[8] On July 29, 2020, the ACC officially announced that Notre Dame would play its 2020 season within the conference, with 10 games against ACC opponents, a non-conference game of its choice against an in-state opponent, and being eligible to compete for the conference championship. The team contributed revenue from its broadcast rights with NBC into the conference's shared pool, split between all ACC members and Notre Dame.^[9]

Notre Dame's opening game against Duke marked the first time that the Fighting Irish had ever competed in, or won a conference game.^[10]

Original[]

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	TV	Result
August 29	2:00 p.m.	vs. Navy[11]	Aviva Stadium Dublin, Ireland (Rip Miller Trophy/Emerald Isle Classic/College GameDay)	ESPN	No contest
September 12	2:30 p.m.	Arkansas[12]	Notre Dame Stadium South Bend, IN	NBC	No contest
September 19	2:30 p.m.	Western Michigan[13]	Notre Dame Stadium South Bend, IN	NBC	No contest
September 26		at Wake Forest[14]	Bank of America Stadium Charlotte, NC		Rescheduled
October 3	7:30 p.m.	vs. Wisconsin[15]	Lambeau Field Green Bay, WI (Shamrock Series)	NBC	No contest
October 10	7:30 p.m.	Stanford[16]	Notre Dame Stadium South Bend, IN (Legends Trophy)	NBC	No contest
October 17		at Pittsburgh[17]	Heinz Field Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)		Rescheduled
October 31	3:30 p.m.	Duke[17]	Notre Dame Stadium South Bend, IN	NBC	Rescheduled
November 7	7:30 p.m.	Clemson[17]	Notre Dame Stadium South Bend, IN	NBC	No change
November 14		at Georgia Tech[18]	Mercedes-Benz Stadium Atlanta, GA		Rescheduled
November 21	2:30 p.m.	Louisville[17]	Notre Dame Stadium South Bend, IN	NBC	Rescheduled
November 28		at USC[19]	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (Jeweled Shillelagh)		No contest
All times are in Eastern time

Revised[]

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance
September 12	2:30 p.m.	Duke	No. 10	Notre Dame Stadium South Bend, IN	NBC	W 27–13	10,097
September 19	2:30 p.m.	South Florida*	No. 7	Notre Dame Stadium South Bend, IN	USA	W 52–0	10,085
October 10	7:30 p.m.	Florida State	No. 5	Notre Dame Stadium South Bend, IN (rivalry)	NBC	W 42–26	10,409
October 17	2:30 p.m.	Louisville	No. 4	Notre Dame Stadium South Bend, IN	NBC	W 12–7	10,182
October 24	3:30 p.m.	at Pittsburgh	No. 3	Heinz Field Pittsburgh, PA (rivalry)	ABC	W 45–3	5,451
October 31	3:30 p.m.	at Georgia Tech	No. 4	Bobby Dodd Stadium Atlanta, GA (rivalry)	ABC	W 31–13	11,000
November 7	7:30 p.m.	No. 1 Clemson	No. 4	Notre Dame Stadium South Bend, IN (College GameDay)	NBC/USA	W 47–40 2OT	11,011
November 14	3:30 p.m.	at Boston College	No. 2	Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA (Holy War)	ABC	W 45–31	0 (behind closed doors)
November 27	3:30 p.m.	at No. 19 North Carolina	No. 2	Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC (rivalry)	ABC	W 31–17	3,535
December 5	2:30 p.m.	Syracuse	No. 2	Notre Dame Stadium South Bend, IN	NBC	W 45–21	6,831
December 12	3:30 p.m.	Wake Forest	No. 2	Truist Field at Wake Forest Winston-Salem, NC	ABC	No contest[1]	—
December 19	4:00 p.m.	vs. No. 3 Clemson	No. 2	Bank of America Stadium Charlotte, NC (ACC Championship Game/College GameDay)	ABC	L 10–34	5,240
January 1, 2021	5:00 p.m.	vs. No. 1 Alabama*	No. 4	AT&T Stadium Arlington, TX (Rose Bowl – CFP Semifinal/College GameDay)	ESPN	L 14–31	18,373
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after November 24 released prior to game All times are in Eastern time

Rankings[]

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
NR = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below. ( ) = First place votes.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Final
AP	10	10*	7	7	5	5	4	3	4	4	2 (2)	2 (1)	2	2	2	2	4	5
Coaches	10	10*	7	7	5	5	4	3	4	4	2 (4)	2 (3)	2 (2)	2 (2)	2 (2)	2 (2)	4	5
CFP	Not released												2	2	2	2	4	Not released

Personnel[]

2020 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class WR 0 Braden Lenzy Jr WR 3 Avery Davis Sr WR 4 Kevin Austin Jr. Jr QB 7 Brendon Clark So RB 8 Jafar Armstrong Sr QB 10 Drew Pyne Fr WR 11 Ben Skowronek GS QB 12 Ian Book GS WR 13 Lawrence Keys III Jr QB 14 J.D. Carney Sr WR 15 Jordan Johnson Fr RB 16 Cameron Ekanayake Sr QB 17 Cole Capen Jr WR 18 Joe Wilkins Jr. Jr RB 20 C'Bo Flemister Jr RB 22 Kendall Abdur-Rahman So RB 23 Kyren Williams So TE 24 Tommy Tremble Jr RB 25 Chris Tyree Fr WR 26 Leo Albano Jr QB 27 Chase Ketterer Fr WR 28 Griffin Eifert Fr WR 32 Matt Salerno Jr RB 34 Jahmir Smith Jr WR 37 Henry Cook Fr WR 43 Greg Mailey Jr TE 48 Xavier Lezynski GS TE 49 Jack Henige Sr OL 52 Zeke Correll So OL 53 Quinn Murphy So OL 55 Jarrett Patterson Jr OL 56 John Dirksen Jr OL 61 Colin Grunhard Sr OL 62 Brennan Wicks Fr OL 64 Max Siegel II Jr OL 68 Michael Carmody Fr OL 69 Aaron Banks Sr OL 70 Hunter Spears So OL 72 Robert Hainsey Sr OL 73 Andrew Kristofic So OL 74 Liam Eichenberg GS OL 75 Josh Lugg Sr OL 76 Dillan Gibbons Sr OL 77 Quinn Carroll So OL 78 Tommy Kraemer GS OL 79 Tosh Baker Fr WR 80 Micah Jones Jr WR 81 Jay Brunelle Fr WR 82 Xavier Watts Fr TE 83 Charlie Selna Fr TE 84 Kevin Bauman Fr TE 85 George Takacs Jr WR 86 Conor Ratigan So TE 87 Michael Mayer Fr WR 88 Javon McKinley GS TE 89 Brock Wright Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class S 3 Houston Griffith Jr CB 4 Nick McCloud GS CB 5 Cam Hart So LB 6 Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah Sr DL 7 Isaiah Foskey So DL 9 Daelin Hayes GS S 10 Isaiah Pryor GS CB 11 Ramon Henderson Fr S 12 DJ Brown Jr LB 13 Paul Moala Jr S 14 Kyle Hamilton So CB 15 Isaiah Rutherford So S 16 KJ Wallace So DL 17 Jordan Botelho Fr DL 18 Nana Osafo-Mensah So DL 19 Justin Ademilola Jr S 20 Shaun Crawford GS CB 21 Caleb Offord Fr S 23 Litchfield Ajavon So LB 24 Jack Kiser So S 25 John Mahoney Sr CB 26 Clarence Lewis Fr LB 27 JD Bertrand So CB 28 TaRiq Bracy Jr DL 29 Ovie Oghoufo Jr S 30 Chris Velotta So LB 31 Jack Lamb Jr S 32 Patrick Pelini Sr LB 33 Shayne Simon Jr LB 34 Osita Ekwonu So LB 35 Marist Liufau So S 36 Eddie Scheidler So S 37 Chase Love Jr LB 40 Drew White Sr DL 41 Kurt Hinish Sr LB 42 Ashleigh Lukasik Fr CB 43 Marcus Thorne Jr DL 47 Kofi Wardlow Sr LB 50 Reed Gregory Sr LB 52 Bo Bauer Jr DL 54 Jacob Lacey So DL 55 Ja'Mion Franklin Jr DL 56 Howard Cross III So DL 57 Jayson Ademilola Jr DL 91 Adetokunbo Ogundeji GS DT 92 Aidan Keanaaina Fr DL 93 Zane Heemsoth So DL 94 Giovanni Ghilotti Fr DL 95 Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa Sr DL 98 Alexander Ehrensberger Fr DL 99 Rylie Mills Fr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P 19 Jay Bramblett So P 30 Jake Rittman Jr K 38 Dawson Goepferich GS K 39 Jonathan Doerer Sr LS 44 Alex Peitsch Fr LS 46 Axel Raarup Jr LS 65 Michael Vinson Jr K 98 Harrison Leonard So	Head coach Brian Kelly (Assumption) Coordinators/assistant coaches Mike Elston (Michigan) Defensive Line Coach Associate Head Coach Clark Lea (Vanderbilt) Defensive Coordinator Linebackers Tommy Rees (Notre Dame) Offensive Coordinator Quarterbacks Brian Polian (John Carroll) Special Teams Coordinator Recruiting Coordinator Terry Joseph (Northwestern State) Defensive Backs Coach Pass Game Coordinator Lance Taylor (Alabama) Running Backs Coach Run Game Coordinator Del Alexander (Southern California) Wide Receivers Coach Jeff Quinn (Elmhurst) Offensive Line Coach John McNulty (Penn State) Tight Ends Coach Mike Mickens (Cincinnati) Cornerbacks Coach Matt Balis Director of Football Performance Ron Powlus (Notre Dame) Associate Athletics Director - Football Olivia Mitchell (Notre Dame) Director of Football Operations Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt Roster

Depth chart[]

†

Game summaries[]

Duke[]

Duke at Notre Dame

1 2 3 4 Total Blue Devils 3 3 7 0 13 • No. 10 Fighting Irish 0 10 7 10 27 Date: September 12, 2020 Location: Notre Dame Stadium South Bend, IN Game start: 2:40 p.m. EDT Elapsed time: 4 hours and 2 minutes Game attendance: 10,097 Game weather: Temperature: 72 °F (22 °C) • Weather: Cloudy • Wind: SE 4 MPH Referee: Jeff Heaser TV announcers (NBC): Mike Tirico (play–by–play), Tony Dungy (analyst) and Jac Collinsworth (sideline)

Scoring summary 1 07:01 DU Charlie Ham 29–yard field goal (10 plays, 79 yards, 3:53) DU 3–0 2 10:39 ND Kyren Williams 1–yard run (Jonathan Dorerer kick) (12 plays, 96 yards, 4:37) ND 7–3 03:20 DU Charlie Ham 30–yard field goal (11 plays, 80 yards, 4:12) ND 7–6 00:00 ND Jonathan Dorerer 48–yard field goal (9 plays, 54 yards, 1:13) ND 10–6 3 07:57 ND Kyren Williams 26–yard run (Jonathan Dorerer kick) (7 plays, 59 yards, 3:32) ND 17–6 02:19 DU Chase Brice 2–yard run (Charlie Ham kick) (6 plays, 39 yards, 2:24) ND 17–13 4 10:58 ND Avery Davis 17–yard pass from Ian Book (Jonathan Dorerer kick) (15 plays, 83 yards, 6:14) ND 24–13 05:21 ND Jonathan Dorerer 34–yard field goal (6 plays, 40 yards, 3:45) ND 27–13

Pregame line	Over/under
ND –21.5	51.5[20]

Statistics	Duke	Notre Dame
First downs	18	24
Total yards	338	441
Rushing yards	79	178
Passing yards	259	263
Turnovers	4	0
Time of possession	26:36	33:24

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Duke	Passing	Chase Brice	20/37, 259 yards
	Rushing	Deon Jackson	15 carries, 52 yards
	Receiving	Eli Pancol	3 receptions, 78 yards
Notre Dame	Passing	Ian Book	19/31, 263 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Kyren Williams	19 carries, 112 yards, 2 TDs
	Receiving	Kyren Williams	2 receptions, 93 yards

South Florida[]

South Florida at Notre Dame

1 2 3 4 Total Bulls 0 0 0 0 0 • No. 7 Fighting Irish 14 21 10 7 52 Date: September 19, 2020 Location: Notre Dame Stadium South Bend, IN Game start: 2:39 p.m. EDT Elapsed time: 3 hours and 7 minutes Game attendance: 10,085 Game weather: Temperature: 62 °F (17 °C) • Weather: Sunny • Wind: E 4 MPH Referee: Marcus Woods TV announcers (USA): Paul Burmeister (play–by–play), Tony Dungy (analyst) and Jac Collinsworth (sideline)

Scoring summary 1 12:05 ND Ian Book 4–yard run (Jonathan Doerer kick) (7 plays, 55 yards, 2:50) ND 7–0 07:06 ND Chris Tyree 1–yard run (Jonathan Doerer kick) (7 plays, 43 yards, 3:24) ND 14–0 2 14:25 ND Ian Book 1–yard run (Jonathan Doerer kick) (11 plays, 58 yards, 5:07) ND 21–0 11:15 ND C'Bo Flemister 26–yard run (Jonathan Doerer kick) (5 plays, 53 yards, 1:57) ND 28–0 01:55 ND Ian Book 1–yard run (Jonathan Doerer kick) (4 plays, 25 yards, 0:54) ND 35–0 3 06:34 ND Jonathan Doerer 22–yard field goal (10 plays, 60 yards, 3:21) ND 38–0 03:23 ND Jordan Botelho 1–yard blocked punt return (Jonathan Doerer kick) ND 45–0 4 02:15 ND Jafar Armstrong 5–yard run (Dawson Goepferich kick) (10 plays, 66 yards, 7:00) ND 52–0

Pregame line	Over/under
ND –23	49[21]

Statistics	South Florida	Notre Dame
First downs	11	21
Total yards	231	430
Rushing yards	106	281
Passing yards	125	149
Turnovers	0	2
Time of possession	27:33	32:27

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
South Florida	Passing	Jordan McCloud	8/14, 64 yards
	Rushing	Johnny Ford	6 carries, 70 yards
	Receiving	Latrell Williams	2 receptions, 48 yards
Notre Dame	Passing	Ian Book	12/19, 144 yards
	Rushing	C'Bo Flemister	13 carries, 127 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Tommy Tremble	3 receptions, 61 yards

Florida State[]

Florida State at Notre Dame
(rivalry)

1 2 3 4 Total Seminoles 17 3 6 0 26 • No. 5 Fighting Irish 14 21 7 0 42 Date: October 10, 2020 Location: Notre Dame Stadium South Bend, IN Game start: 7:41 p.m. EDT Elapsed time: 3 hours and 20 minutes Game attendance: 10,409 Game weather: Temperature: 64 °F (18 °C) • Weather: Cloudy • Wind: N 8 MPH Referee: Riley Johnson TV announcers (NBC): Mike Tirico (play–by–play), Tony Dungy (analyst) and Kathryn Tappen (sideline)

Scoring summary 1 12:03 FS Ryan Fitzgerald 42–yard field goal (4 plays, 8 yards, 2:07) FS 3–0 10:43 ND Michael Mayer 8–yard pass from Ian Book (Jonathan Doerer kick) (3 plays, 75 yards, 1:20) ND 7–3 06:10 ND Kyren Williams 46–yard run (Jonathan Doerer kick) (5 plays, 76 yards, 2:19) ND 14–3 02:51 FS Jordan Travis 4–yard run (Ryan Fitzgerald kick) (3 plays, 19 yards, 1:13) ND 14–10 00:38 FS Tamorrion Terry 48–yard pass from Jordan Travis (Ryan Fitzgerald kick) (4 plays, 71 yards, 1:13) FS 17–14 2 12:27 ND Kyren Williams 1–yard run (Jonathan Doerer kick) (8 plays, 75 yards, 3:11) ND 21–17 05:25 ND Chris Tyree 45–yard run (Jonathan Doerer kick) (4 plays, 81 yards, 1:50) ND 28–17 01:17 FS Ryan Fitzgerald 26–yard field goal (13 plays, 67 yards, 4:08) ND 28–20 00:11 ND Braden Lenzy 6–yard pass from Ian Book (Jonathan Doerer kick) (8 plays, 57 yards, 0:58) ND 35–20 3 12:25 FS La'Damian Webb 7–yard run (Tamorrion Terry pass failed) (7 plays, 75 yards, 2:35) ND 35–26 08:40 ND Ian Book 3–yard run (Jonathan Doerer kick) (8 plays, 86 yards, 3:39) ND 42–26

Pregame line	Over/under
ND –21	53.5[22]

Statistics	Florida State	Notre Dame
First downs	18	26
Total yards	405	554
Rushing yards	153	353
Passing yards	252	201
Turnovers	0	4
Time of possession	32:08	27:52

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Florida State	Passing	Jordan Travis	13/24, 204 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Jordan Travis	19 carries, 96 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Tamorrion Terry	9 receptions, 146 yards, 1 TD
Notre Dame	Passing	Ian Book	16/25, 201 yards, 2 TDs
	Rushing	Kyren Williams	19 carries, 185 yards, 2 TDs
	Receiving	Javon McKinley	5 receptions, 107 yards

Louisville[]

Louisville at Notre Dame

1 2 3 4 Total Cardinals 0 0 7 0 7 • No. 4 Fighting Irish 6 0 6 0 12 Date: October 17, 2020 Location: Notre Dame Stadium South Bend, IN Game start: 2:42 p.m. EDT Elapsed time: 2 hours and 52 minutes Game attendance: 10,182 Game weather: Temperature: 58 °F (14 °C) • Weather: Cloudy • Wind: S 20 MPH Referee: Mike Roche TV announcers (NBC): Mike Tirico (play–by–play), Tony Dungy (analyst) and Kathryn Tappen (sideline)

Scoring summary 1 09:26 ND Jonathan Doerer 32–yard field goal (12 plays, 61 yards, 5:34) ND 3–0 00:30 ND Jonathan Doerer 30–yard field goal (15 plays, 76 yards, 7:09) ND 6–0 3 07:37 UL Marshon Ford 1–yard pass from Malik Cunningham (Jason Turner kick) (13 plays, 83 yards, 7:16) UL 7–6 03:43 ND Ian Book 13–yard run (Javon McKinley pass failed) (8 plays, 66 yards, 3:49) ND 12–7

Pregame line	Over/under
ND –16	62[23]

Statistics	Louisville	Notre Dame
First downs	14	24
Total yards	233	338
Rushing yards	96	232
Passing yards	137	106
Turnovers	0	0
Time of possession	23:45	36:15

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Louisville	Passing	Malik Cunningham	16/19, 132 yards, 1 TD
	Rushing	Javian Hawkins	15 carries, 51 yards
	Receiving	Javian Hawkins	5 receptions, 46 yards
Notre Dame	Passing	Ian Book	11/19, 106 yards
	Rushing	Kyren Williams	25 carries, 127 yards
	Receiving	Ben Skowronek	2 receptions, 28 yards

at Pittsburgh[]

Notre Dame at Pittsburgh
(rivalry)

1 2 3 4 Total • No. 3 Fighting Irish 7 21 17 0 45 Panthers 3 0 0 0 3 Date: October 24, 2020 Location: Heinz Field Pittsburgh, PA Game start: 3:41 p.m. EDT Elapsed time: 3 hours and 18 minutes Game attendance: 5,451 Game weather: Temperature: 52 °F (11 °C) • Weather: Cloudy • Wind: NW 7 MPH Referee: Duane Heydt TV announcers (ABC): Sean McDonough (play–by–play), Todd Blackledge (analyst), Todd McShay (sideline) and Molly McGrath (sideline)

Scoring summary 1 10:08 ND Ben Skowronek 34–yard pass from Ian Book (Jonathan Doerer kick) (11 plays, 75 yards, 4:52) ND 7–0 07:38 UP Alex Kessman 45–yard field goal (10 plays, 37 yards, 2:30) ND 7–3 2 10:37 ND Ben Skowronek 73–yard pass from Ian Book (Jonathan Doerer kick) (4 plays, 87 yards, 1:29) ND 14–3 01:29 ND Kyren Williams 2–yard run (Jonathan Doerer kick) (8 plays, 46 yards, 3:42) ND 21–3 00:11 ND Isaiah Foskey 0–yard blocked punt return (Jonathan Doerer kick) ND 28–3 3 07:34 ND Jonathan Doerer 21–yard field goal (14 plays, 72 yards, 6:10) ND 31–3 04:22 ND Michael Mayer 14–yard pass from Ian Book (Jonathan Doerer kick) (4 plays, 49 yards, 2:01) ND 38–3 02:42 ND C'Bo Flemister 2–yard run (Jonathan Doerer kick) (4 plays, 35 yards, 1:33) ND 45–3

Pregame line	Over/under
ND –10	43.5[24]

Statistics	Notre Dame	Pittsburgh
First downs	28	11
Total yards	434	162
Rushing yards	115	44
Passing yards	319	118
Turnovers	1	3
Time of possession	40:59	19:01

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Notre Dame	Passing	Ian Book	16/30, 312 yards, 3 TDs
	Rushing	C'Bo Flemister	13 carries, 48 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Ben Skowronek	2 receptions, 107 yards, 2 TDs
Pittsburgh	Passing	Joey Yellen	10/27, 101 yards, 3 INTs
	Rushing	Vincent Davis	8 carries, 28 yards
	Receiving	Jordan Addison	3 receptions, 40 yards

at Georgia Tech[]

Notre Dame at Georgia Tech
(rivalry)

1 2 3 4 Total • No. 4 Fighting Irish 7 10 7 7 31 Yellow Jackets 0 7 0 6 13 Date: October 31, 2020 Location: Bobby Dodd Stadium Atlanta, GA Game start: 3:41 p.m. EDT Elapsed time: 3 hours and 10 minutes Game attendance: 11,000 Game weather: Temperature: 61 °F (16 °C) • Weather: Cool and Sunny • Wind: Breezy Referee: Gary Patterson TV announcers (ABC): Dave Pasch (play–by–play), Mike Golic (analyst) and Marty Smith (sideline)

Scoring summary 1 06:16 ND Joe Wilkins Jr. 8–yard pass from Ian Book (Jonathan Doerer kick) (15 plays, 81 yards, 8:38) ND 7–0 2 14:42 GT Zamari Walton 93–yard fumble return (Jude Kelley kick) TIE 7–7 10:47 ND Kyren Williams 2��yard run (Jonathan Doerer kick) (7 plays, 75 yards, 3:48) ND 14–7 01:49 ND Jonathan Doerer 32–yard field goal (8 plays, 35 yards, 2:10) ND 17–7 3 10:43 ND Kyren Williams 4–yard run (Jonathan Doerer kick) (6 plays, 65 yards, 2:56) ND 24–7 4 12:59 ND C'Bo Flemister 3–yard run (Jonathan Doerer kick) (9 plays, 74 yards, 4:32) ND 31–7 07:15 GT Jordan Mason 1–yard run (Adonicas Sanders rush failed) (8 plays, 69 yards, 2:42) ND 31–13

Pregame line	Over/under
ND –20.5	58.5[25]

Statistics	Notre Dame	Georgia Tech
First downs	24	17
Total yards	426	238
Rushing yards	227	88
Passing yards	199	150
Turnovers	2	4
Time of possession	36:54	23:06

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Notre Dame	Passing	Ian Book	18/26, 199 yards, 1 TD
	Rushing	Kyren Williams	15 carries, 76 yards, 2 TDs
	Receiving	Javon McKinley	5 receptions, 93 yards
Georgia Tech	Passing	Jeff Sims	15/26, 150 yards
	Rushing	Jahmyr Gibbs	14 carries, 61 yards
	Receiving	Jahmyr Gibbs	5 receptions, 49 yards

Clemson[]

Clemson at Notre Dame
(College GameDay)

1 2 3 4 OT 2OT Total No. 1 Tigers 7 6 10 10 7 0 40 • No. 4 Fighting Irish 10 13 0 10 7 7 47 Date: November 7, 2020 Location: Notre Dame Stadium South Bend, IN Game start: 7:35 p.m. EST Elapsed time: 4 hours and 8 minutes Game attendance: 11,011 Game weather: Temperature: 61 °F (16 °C) • Weather: Cloudy • Wind: SE 6 MPH Referee: Jeff Heaser TV announcers (NBC/USA): Mike Tirico (play–by–play), Tony Dungy (analyst), Kathryn Tappen (sideline) and Jac Collinsworth (sideline)

Scoring summary 1 14:27 ND Kyren Williams 65–yard run (Jonathan Doerer kick) (1 play, 75 yards, 0:33) ND 7–0 05:55 ND Jonathan Doerer 24–yard field goal (10 plays, 49 yards, 6:24) ND 10–0 04:11 CU Cornell Powell 53–yard pass from D.J. Uiagalelei (B.T. Potter kick) (4 plays, 75 yards, 1:44) ND 10–7 2 13:09 ND Jonathan Doerer 27–yard field goal (13 plays, 66 yards, 6:02) ND 13–7 08:32 CU B.T. Potter 25–yard field goal (11 plays, 80 yards, 4:32) ND 13–10 05:53 ND Jeremiah Owusu–Koramoah 23–yard fumble recovery (Jonathan Doerer kick) ND 20–10 02:41 ND Jonathan Doerer 45–yard field goal (4 plays, –2 yards, 2:25) ND 23–10 01:09 CU B.T. Potter 45–yard field goal (6 plays, 47 yards, 1:32) ND 23–13 3 12:15 CU B.T. Potter 46–yard field goal (9 plays, 36 yards, 2:45) ND 23–16 04:12 CU Davis Allen 10–yard pass from D.J. Uiagalelei (B.T. Potter kick) (13 plays, 60 yards, 6:29) TIE 23–23 4 11:37 ND Jonathan Doerer 44–yard field goal (7 plays, 31 yards, 3:12) ND 26–23 09:42 CU B.T. Potter 30–yard field goal (5 plays, 58 yards, 1:49) TIE 26–26 03:33 CU Travis Etienne 3–yard run (B.T. Potter kick) (12 plays, 74 yards, 5:41) CU 33–26 00:22 ND Avery Davis 4–yard pass from Ian Book (Jonathan Doerer kick) (8 plays, 91 yards, 1:26) TIE 33–33 OT 15:00 CU D.J. Uiagalelei 1–yard run (B.T. Potter kick) (2 plays, 25 yards, 0:00) CU 40–33 15:00 ND Kyren Williams 3–yard run (Jonathan Doerer kick) (4 plays, 25 yards, 0:00) TIE 40–40 2OT 15:00 ND Kyren Williams 3–yard run (Jonathan Doerer kick) (6 plays, 25 yards, 0:00) ND 47–40

Pregame line	Over/under
CU –4.5	51[26]

Statistics	Clemson	Notre Dame
First downs	22	22
Total yards	473	518
Rushing yards	34	208
Passing yards	439	310
Turnovers	6	2
Time of possession	29:38	30:22

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Clemson	Passing	D. J. Uiagalelei	29/44, 439 yards, 2 TDs
	Rushing	Travis Etienne	18 carries, 28 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Amari Rodgers	8 receptions, 134 yards
Notre Dame	Passing	Ian Book	22/39, 310 yards, 1 TD
	Rushing	Kyren Williams	23 carries, 140 yards, 3 TDs
	Receiving	Javon McKinley	5 receptions, 102 yards

at Boston College[]

Notre Dame at Boston College
(Holy War)

1 2 3 4 Total • No. 2 Fighting Irish 10 21 7 7 45 Eagles 10 6 7 8 31 Date: November 14, 2020 Location: Alumni Stadium Chestnut Hill, MA Game start: 3:36 p.m. EST Elapsed time: 3 hours and 33 minutes Game attendance: 0 Game weather: Temperature: 46 °F (8 °C) • Weather: Partly Cloudy • Wind: W 14 MPH Referee: Mike Roche TV announcers (ABC): Sean McDonough (play–by–play), Todd Blackledge (analyst), Todd McShay (sideline) and Molly McGrath (sideline)

Scoring summary 1 09:39 ND Jonathan Doerer 23–yard field goal (13 plays, 70 yards, 5:21) ND 3–0 05:03 BC Zay Flowers 4–yard pass from Phil Jurkovec (Aaron Boumerhi kick) (10 plays, 80 yards, 4:30) BC 7–3 03:56 BC Aaron Boumerhi 41–yard field goal (4 plays, –6 yards, 0:56) BC 10–3 00:11 ND Ben Skowronek 10–yard pass from Ian Book (Jonathan Doerer kick) (8 plays, 77 yards, 3:39) TIE 10–10 2 12:41 BC Aaron Boumerhi 31–yard field goal (9 plays, 44 yards, 2:25) BC 13–10 10:24 ND C'Bo Flemister 2–yard run (Jonathan Doerer kick) (6 plays, 75 yards, 2:13) ND 17–13 05:43 ND Ben Skowronek 13–yard pass from Ian Book (Jonathan Doerer kick) (7 plays, 50 yards, 3:32) ND 24–13 03:12 BC Aaron Boumerhi 35–yard field goal (6 plays, 57 yards, 2:31) ND 24–16 00:04 ND Ben Skowronek 7–yard pass from Ian Book (Jonathan Doerer kick) (9 plays, 49 yards, 2:05) ND 31–16 3 06:34 ND C'Bo Flemister 1–yard run (Jonathan Doerer kick) (4 plays, 43 yards, 1:57) ND 38–16 00:35 BC David Bailey 3–yard run (Aaron Boumerhi kick) (12 plays, 80 yards, 5:59) ND 38��23 4 12:19 ND Ian Book 6–yard run (Jonathan Doerer kick) (7 plays, 70 yards, 3:10) ND 45–23 04:09 BC Hunter Long 8–yard pass from Phil Jurkovec (Travis Levy rush) (6 plays, 70 yards, 1:28) ND 45–31

Pregame line	Over/under
ND –13	51.5[27]

Statistics	Notre Dame	Boston College
First downs	29	22
Total yards	561	357
Rushing yards	278	85
Passing yards	283	272
Turnovers	6	2
Time of possession	34:27	25:33

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Notre Dame	Passing	Ian Book	20/27, 283 yards, 3 TDs
	Rushing	Ian Book	10 carries, 85 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Avery Davis	2 receptions, 70 yards
Boston College	Passing	Phil Jurkovec	18/40, 272 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT
	Rushing	Travis Levy	9 carries, 51 yards
	Receiving	Jaelen Gill	5 receptions, 105 yards

at North Carolina[]

Notre Dame at North Carolina
(rivalry)

1 2 3 4 Total • No. 2 Fighting Irish 14 3 7 7 31 No. 19 Tar Heels 14 3 0 0 17 Date: November 27, 2020 Location: Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC Game start: 3:41 p.m. EST Elapsed time: 3 hours and 13 minutes Game attendance: 3,535 Game weather: Temperature: 65 °F (18 °C) • Weather: Clear • Wind: NNE 5 MPH Referee: Duane Heydt TV announcers (ABC): Chris Fowler (play–by–play), Kirk Herbstreit (analyst) and Katie George (sideline)

Scoring summary 1 09:56 NC Emery Simmons 6–yard pass from Sam Howell (Grayson Atkins kick) (7 plays, 50 yards, 2:54) NC 7–0 05:19 ND Kyren Williams 2–yard run (Jonathan Doerer kick) (9 plays, 75 yards, 4:37) TIE 7–7 02:59 NC Sam Howell 1–yard run (Grayson Atkins kick) (7 plays, 75 yards, 2:20) NC 14–7 01:05 ND Kyren Williams 4–yard pass from Ian Book (Jonathan Doerer kick) (4 plays, 82 yards, 1:50) TIE 14–14 2 01:10 NC Grayson Atkins 42–yard field goal (12 plays, 72 yards, 4:40) NC 17–14 00:00 ND Jonathan Doerer 32–yard field goal (7 plays, 61 yards, 1:10) TIE 17–17 3 07:05 ND Ben Skowronek 13–yard run (Jonathan Doerer kick) (13 plays, 97 yards, 5:22) ND 24–17 4 01:20 ND Kyren Williams 1–yard run (Jonathan Doerer kick) (8 plays, 89 yards, 4:32) ND 31–17

Pregame line	Over/under
ND –4.5	69.5[28]

Statistics	Notre Dame	North Carolina
First downs	25	14
Total yards	478	298
Rushing yards	199	87
Passing yards	279	211
Turnovers	1	0
Time of possession	35:04	24:56

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Notre Dame	Passing	Ian Book	23/33, 279 yards, 1 TD
	Rushing	Kyren Williams	23 carries, 124 yards, 2 TDs
	Receiving	Javon McKinley	6 receptions, 135 yards
North Carolina	Passing	Sam Howell	17/27, 211 yards, 1 TD
	Rushing	Michael Carter	8 carries, 57 yards
	Receiving	Dyami Brown	4 receptions, 84 yards

Syracuse[]

Syracuse at Notre Dame

1 2 3 4 Total Orange 0 7 7 7 21 • No. 2 Fighting Irish 3 21 14 7 45 Date: December 5, 2020 Location: Notre Dame Stadium South Bend, IN Game start: 2:41 p.m. EST Elapsed time: 3 hours and 22 minutes Game attendance: 6,831 Game weather: Temperature: 37 °F (3 °C) • Weather: Overcast • Wind: NE 10 MPH Referee: Stuart Mullins TV announcers (NBC): Mike Tirico (play–by–play), Tony Dungy (analyst) and Kathryn Tappen (sideline)

Scoring summary 1 09:32 ND Jonathan Doerer 25–yard field goal (12 plays, 73 yards, 5:28) ND 3–0 2 09:55 SU Anthony Queeley 18–yard pass from Rex Culpepper (Andre Szmyt kick) (10 plays, 62 yards, 4:07) SU 7–3 03:18 ND Ian Book 28–yard run (Jonathan Doerer kick) (5 plays, 72 yards, 2:18) ND 10–7 01:30 ND Javon McKinley 21–yard pass from Ian Book (Jonathan Doerer kick) (1 play, 21 yards, 0:08) ND 17–7 00:06 ND Javon McKinley 28–yard pass from Ian Book (Jonathan Doerer kick) (6 plays, 68 yards, 0:32) ND 24–7 3 11:20 SU Sean Tucker 40–yard run (Andre Szmyt kick) (5 plays, 57 yards, 2:14) ND 24–14 06:32 ND Ian Book 17–yard run (Jonathan Doerer kick) (8 plays, 53 yards, 3:23) ND 31–14 01:07 ND Javon McKinley 26–yard pass from Ian Book (Jonathan Doerer kick) (3 plays, 68 yards, 1:03) ND 38–14 4 06:25 ND Chris Tyree 94–yard run (Jonathan Doerer kick) (2 plays, 87 yards, 0:52) ND 45–14 05:33 SU Cooper Lutz 80–yard run (Andre Szmyt kick) (2 plays, 81 yards, 0:52) ND 45–21

Pregame line	Over/under
ND –34	51[29]

Statistics	Syracuse	Notre Dame
First downs	15	26
Total yards	414	568
Rushing yards	229	283
Passing yards	185	285
Turnovers	7	2
Time of possession	26:10	33:50

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Syracuse	Passing	Rex Culpepper	18/29, 185 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
	Rushing	Sean Tucker	24 carries, 113 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Taj Harris	8 receptions, 69 yards
Notre Dame	Passing	Ian Book	24/37, 285 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT
	Rushing	Kyren Williams	20 carries, 110 yards
	Receiving	Javon McKinley	7 receptions, 111 yards, 3 TDs

at Wake Forest (No Contest)[]

Notre Dame at Wake Forest (No Contest)

1 2 3 4 Total No.2 Fighting Irish 0 0 0 0 0 Demon Deacons 0 0 0 0 0 Date: December 12, 2020 Location: Truist Field at Wake Forest Winston-Salem, NC Game start: 3:30 p.m. EST Television network: ABC

Pregame line	Over/under
N/A	N/A[30]

The No. 2 Notre Dame at Wake Forest game was canceled by the ACC, due to an evaluation of the three teams in contention to play in the ACC Championship Game and the game was not rescheduled. Instead, Notre Dame ended their regular season vs. Syracuse and had a bye this week, and Wake Forest played a replacement game at Louisville.^[31]

vs. Clemson (ACC Championship)[]

Clemson vs. Notre Dame
(ACC Championship Game/College GameDay)

1 2 3 4 Total • No. 3 Tigers 7 17 7 3 34 No. 2 Fighting Irish 3 0 0 7 10 Date: December 19, 2020 Location: Bank of America Stadium Charlotte, NC Game start: 4:08 p.m. EST Elapsed time: 3 hours and 12 minutes Game attendance: 5,240 Game weather: Temperature:48 °F (9 °C) • Weather: Partly Cloudy • Wind: SSE 4 MPH Referee: Jeff Heaser TV announcers (ABC): Chris Fowler (play–by–play), Kirk Herbstreit (analyst) and Maria Taylor (sideline)

Scoring summary 1 08:16 ND Jonathan Doerer 51–yard field goal (11 plays, 46 yards, 6:44) ND 3–0 00:41 CU Amari Rodgers 67–yard pass from Trevor Lawrence (B.T. Potter kick) (3 plays, 80 yards, 1:01) CU 7–3 2 09:24 CU E.J. Williams 33–yard pass from Trevor Lawrence (B.T. Potter kick) (6 plays, 72 yards, 2:44) CU 14–3 04:28 CU B.T. Potter 27–yard field goal (8 plays, 63 yards, 2:37) CU 17–3 00:21 CU Travis Etienne 44–yard run (B.T. Potter kick) (10 plays, 88 yards, 1:49) CU 24–3 3 03:43 CU Trevor Lawrence 34–yard run (B.T. Potter kick) (8 plays, 83 yards, 2:35) CU 31–3 4 10:31 CU B.T. Potter 37–yard field goal (12 plays, 66 yards, 6:22) CU 34–3 08:09 ND Chris Tyree 21–yard run (Jonathan Doerer kick) (7 plays, 75 yards, 2:22) CU 34–10

Pregame line	Over/under
CU –10.5	58[32]

Statistics	Clemson	Notre Dame
First downs	23	18
Total yards	541	263
Rushing yards	219	44
Passing yards	322	219
Turnovers	0	4
Time of possession	28:08	31:52

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Clemson	Passing	Trevor Lawrence	25/36, 322 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT
	Rushing	Travis Etienne	10 carries, 124 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Amari Rodgers	8 receptions, 121 yards, 1 TD
Notre Dame	Passing	Ian Book	20/28, 219 yards
	Rushing	Kyren Williams	15 carries, 50 yards
	Receiving	Michael Mayer	5 receptions, 51 yards

vs. Alabama (Rose Bowl)[]

Notre Dame vs. Alabama
(Rose Bowl – CFP Semifinal/College GameDay)

1 2 3 4 Total No. 4 Fighting Irish 0 7 0 7 14 • No. 1 Alabama 14 7 7 3 31 Date: January 1, 2021 Location: AT&T Stadium Arlington, TX Game start: 3:20 p.m. CST Elapsed time: 3 hours and 13 minutes Game attendance: 18,373 Game weather: Temperature: 72 °F (22 °C) • Weather: Indoors • Wind: N/A Referee: John O'Neill TV announcers (ESPN): Sean McDonough (play–by–play), Todd Blackledge (analyst), Todd McShay (sideline) and Allison Williams (sideline)

Scoring summary 1 10:14 UA DeVonta Smith 26–yard pass from Mac Jones (Will Reichard kick) (7 plays, 79 yards, 2:36) UA 7–0 04:19 UA Jahleel Billingsley 12–yard pass from Mac Jones (Will Reichard kick) (5 plays, 97 yards, 2:11) UA 14–0 2 11:16 ND Kyren Williams 1–yard run (Jonathan Doerer kick) (15 plays, 75 yards, 8:03) UA 14–7 08:49 UA DeVonta Smith 34–yard pass from Mac Jones (Will Reichard kick) (6 plays, 84 yards, 2:21) UA 21–7 3 04:58 UA DeVonta Smith 7–yard pass from Mac Jones (Will Reichard kick) (5 plays, 62 yards, 2:29) UA 28–7 4 12:45 UA Will Reichard 41–yard field goal (10 plays, 47 yards, 4:20) UA 31–7 00:56 ND Ian Book 1–yard run (Jonathan Doerer kick) (14 plays, 80 yards, 4:36) UA 31–14

Pregame line	Over/under
UA –19.5	65.5[33]

Statistics	Notre Dame	Alabama
First downs	24	24
Total yards	375	437
Rushing yards	139	140
Passing yards	236	297
Turnovers	2	0
Time of possession	33:43	26:17

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Notre Dame	Passing	Ian Book	27/39, 229 yards, 1 INT
	Rushing	Kyren Williams	16 carries, 64 yards, 1 TD
	Receiving	Kyren Williams	8 receptions, 31 yards
Alabama	Passing	Mac Jones	25/30, 297 yards, 4 TDs
	Rushing	Najee Harris	15 carries, 125 yards
	Receiving	DeVonta Smith	7 receptions, 130 yards, 3 TDs

Players drafted into the NFL[]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL Club
2	42	Liam Eichenberg	OT	Miami Dolphins
2	48	Aaron Banks	OG	San Francisco 49ers
2	52	Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah	ILB	Cleveland Browns
3	83	Tommy Tremble	TE	Carolina Panthers
3	95	Robert Hainsey	OT	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
4	133	Ian Book	QB	New Orleans Saints
5	171	Daelin Hayes	DE	Baltimore Ravens
5	182	Adetokunbo Ogundeji	DE	Atlanta Falcons
7	249	Ben Skowronek	WR	Los Angeles Rams

References[]