The team will kick off the season against Wisconsin at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.  The Badgers Big Ten membership dates back to 1953 and their recent run in the conference, but CFB more broadly, has been lackluster.  They hit recent peak performance in 2019, when they went 10-4 overall and 7-2 against Big Ten competition. Wisconsin rebounded relatively well following the COVID season and finished 2021 9-4 overall and 6-3 against conference opponents. They’ve only been above 0.500 against a slate of nine Big Ten opponents since then and unfortunately finished the 2025 season 4-8 overall and only 2-7 in-conference.

The Irish will line up against Michigan State at home in South Bend.  The Spartans Big Ten Membership dates back to 1953 and similar to Wisconsin, they’re far away from their CFB heyday. Between 2019 and 2025, they’ve only finished with an overall record above 0.500 twice.  They hit a high in 2021, finishing 11-2 overall and 7-2 in-conference. Their second-best outing was in 2019 when they finished 7-6 overall and 4-5 against Big Ten opponents. 2025 was their worst statistical performance in recent history and they ended things 4-8 overall and 1-8 against Big Ten programs.

Notre Dame football will travel downstate to West Lafayette to compete against Purdue at Ross-Ade Stadium. The Boilermaker’s Big Ten membership dates back to 1953 and they’ve had the worst recent CFB history of the three Big Ten opponents the Irish will see in the 2026-27 regular season. Their most solid outings were in 2021 and 2022. They finished 9-4 overall in 2021 and 8-6 overall in 2022.  Their conference record in both seasons was 6-3. But they haven’t won a single conference game across 18 matchups during the 2024 and 2025 seasons. And they’ve only won three games overall during that period.

Notre Dame football’s second game during the 2026-27 regular season will be against Rice. The Owls will travel from Texas for the afternoon game in Notre Daem Stadium.  Rice became a member of the American conference in 2023, after having been a part of Conference-USA between 2005 and 2022. Since 2019, they haven’t hit above 0.500 overall in college football.  Their best season was their first season in the American conference and they finished 6-7 overall and a flat 4-4 against conference opponents. They’ve had mixed results since then, with a 4-8 overall finish in 2024 and a 5-8 overall finish in 2025.  But it’s been trending downwards from a conference e competition perspective and Rice only won three of their eight games against American opponents in 2024 and two of their eight games against American opponents in 2025.

The Stanford Cardinal will make the journey to South Bend for an early October matchup with Notre Dame. Stanford fell victim to the dismantling of the Pac-12 in 2023 and joined the ACC for the 2024 CFB season. Between 2019 and 2025, the program hasn’t experience any real success, regardless of conference affiliation. They haven’t won more than four games overall in a single season.  They won only one of their nine in-conference games during 2022.  Since joining the ACC, they’ve only won five of their 11 games against in-conference opponents.

The Irish will travel to Provo, Utah to face off against BYU in mid-October of the 2026-27 regular season. The Cougars made the leap to the Big 12 conference in 2023, after being an Independent between the 2011 and 2022 seasons. The program has experienced success during both conference situations. They went 11-1 overall in 2020 and 10-3 overall in 2021.  Their first season in the Big 12 produced less than optimal results and they finished 5-7 overall and 2-7 against conference competition. And then things turned around rapidly. BYU finished 11-2 overall and 7-2 in-conference in 2024 and 12-12 overall and 8-1 against Big 12 teams in 2025.

Another Texas team, SMU, will be traveling to South Bend to face off against the Irish. The Mustangs stamped their ACC membership in 2024, after being in the American conference between the 2013 and 2023 seasons. The 2023-2024 seasons were some of the best recount outings for SMU. They finished their least season in the American conference with a 11-3 overall record and 8-0 record against conference opponents.  They matched that performance identically in the ACC, finishing 11-3 overall and 8-0 in-conference. Their sophomore season in the ACC wasn’t quite as successful and the Mustangs finishes 9-4 overall and 6-2 against conference opponents.

This year’s Notre Dame-Navy matchup will be played at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Navy has been a member pf the American conference since 2015, after snapping their longtime Independent status. The 2019 season was a standout performance for the Midshipmen and they finished with a 11-2 overall record and 7-1 record against American opponents. The program experienced a significant lull between 2020 and 2023 before turning things back around. They completed the 2024 season 10-3 overall and 6-2 in-conference. The Midshipmen matched their 2019 performance during their most recent outing and finished the 2025 season 11-2 overall and 7-1 against American competition.

Notre Dame football will play against North Carolina at Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill during the 2-26-27 regular season. The Tar Heels’ ACC membership dates back to 1953 and they’ve been pretty middle of the road during recent history.  They saw their most success in 2022 and 2023.  North Carolina finished 9-5 overall and 6-2 against conference opponents in 2022.  They finished 8-5 overall and a flat 4-4 against ACC competition in 2023.  NFL legend Bill Belichik took over the program in 2025 and the Tar Heels hit a floor of 4-8 overall and 2-6 against conference opponents.

The Miami (FL) Hurricanes will journey up to South Bend for an early November matchup with the Irish. The program joined the ACC in 2004 after being in the Big East between the 1991 and 2003 seasons. They produced modest results between 2019 and 2023 before taking a big step. They finished the 2024 season 10-3 overall and 6-2 against ACC opponents. Miami (FL) ended their most recent season 13-3 overall and 6-2 against ACC opponents.  That 2025 run also included a CFP National Championship appearance.

This year’s Notre Dame-Boston College football game will be held in Notre Dame Stadium.  The program stamped its ACC membership in 2005 after being a member of the Big East between 1991 and 2002. The Eagle’s football performance had been middling in nature before hitting a notable low in 2025. Boston college finished their most recent season with a 2-10 overall record and 1-7 record against ACC opponents.

Notre Dame football will close out the 2026-27 regular season against Syracuse at the JMA Wireless Dome in upstate New York. The Orange joined the ACC in 2013, after having been in the Big East between 1991 and 2012. The program has produced a mixed bag of results during its recent history. They finished the 2019 season with a 5-7 overall and 2-6 record against conference competition. Things turned around significantly in 2024 and they finished 10-3 overall and 5-3 against ACC opponents. But Syracuse went 3-7 overall in 2025 and only won one of their eight games played against ACC opponents.