How Notre Dame’s opponents fared in WEEK 4 of the CFB season
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Notre Dame’s 2026 college football schedule has been called many thing over the last eight months, but “tough” or anywhere near the word “hard” was certainly not among them. Still, some have mentioned that this Irish schedule could look a lot trickier as the season progresses. While they may eventually be true, it may not matter all that much (except for message boards and social media).
Notre Dame took a minute or two to get going against the Wisconsin Badgers in the season opener, but eventually the Irish whooped them 42-13. Notre Dame welcomed the Rice Owls to South Bend for the home opener, and sent them back to Texas with a 52-0 loss. Although the Irish were big favorites against Michigan State, they got their best shot — and still beat the Spartans 27-10. The Irish were once again massive favorites over a Big 10 team, and they more than covered against Purdue with a 49-10 win that was never that close. Next up for the Irish is a road trip south to take on the North Carolina Tar Heels.
Notre Dame is likely to be favored in every game this season, and they have become the popular pick to win the national championship. Their strength of schedule probably isn’t going to matter much, but let’s keep track of it anyway.
| OPPONENT | RESULT | RECORD | AP TOP 25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wisconsin Badgers | W vs Penn State 24-20 | 3-1 | VOTES |
| Rice Owls | L vs Fresno State 38-24 | 1-3 | – |
| Michigan State Spartans | L vs Nebraska 31-13 | 2-2 | – |
| Purdue Boilermakers | L vs Notre Dame 49-10 | 1-3 | – |
| North Carolina Tar Heels | BYE | 2-1 | – |
| Stanford Cardinal | W vs Georgia Tech 34-27 | 2-2 | – |
| BYU Cougars | BYE | 3-0 | 10 |
| Navy Midshipmen | L vs UAB 24-20 | 1-2 | – |
| Miami Hurricanes | W vs Central Michigan 52-3 | 4-0 | 4 |
| Boston College Eagles | L vs Virginia Tech 21-14 | 2-2 | – |
| SMU Mustangs | W vs Missouri State 43-24 | 3-1 | 22 |
| Syracuse Orange | BYE | 1-2 | – |
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