​ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN – NOVEMBER 07: The Michigan State Spartans celebrate with the Paul Bunyan Trophy after a 15-6 win over the Michigan Wolverines at Michigan Stadium on November 07, 2026 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) | Getty Images 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. Notre Dame was better than a three touchdown favorite against North Carolina, but ran into a bit of a clunker (and rain) and beat the Tar Heels 37-26. After two weeks on the road, Notre Dame returned to South Bend and the homecooking did them well as the Irish destroyed the Stanford Cardinal 58-7. Disaster hit the Irish against BYU in a 28-24 loss, and no matter what part of the game you want to complain about (because there was quite a bit) the simplest thing to say is that Notre Dame flat out got outplayed by the Cougars. Against Navy, Notre Dame took a slower path than fans would like, but in the end the Irish won the game 35-13 and completely shutdown the Middies in the 2nd half. Notre Dame did “the thing” that fans and pundits have been waiting on, and took down No. 1 Miami in South Bend 31-24. Next up for the Irish is another home game against the Boston College Eagles.Notre Dame is still likely to be favored in every game this season, and they are still a 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.OPPONENTRESULTRECORDAP TOP 25Wisconsin BadgersW vs Rutgers 31-106-3–Rice OwlsL vs North Texas 52-231-8–Michigan State SpartansW vs Michigan 15-63-6–Purdue BoilermakersL vs Maryland 34-293-5–North Carolina Tar HeelsW vs UConn 38-215-4–Stanford CardinalBYE4-5–BYU CougarsL vs Utah 28-207-212Navy MidshipmenW vs Temple 42-353-6–Miami HurricanesL vs Notre Dame 31-248-15Boston College EaglesL vs Florida State 31-244-5–SMU MustangsW vs Virginia Tech 51-287-225Syracuse OrangeL vs Clemson 18-134-5–Join the conversation!Sign up for a user account and get:Improved notifications system!Fewer adsCreate community postsComment on articles, community postsRec