Notre Dame — FBS Independents
PPA off / def
0.33 / 0.02
2025
Class rank
#5
class of 2026
Returning PPA
51%
returning production
| 2024 |
OSU W 34–23 | away |
| 2023 |
OSU W 17–14 | away |
| 2022 |
OSU W 21–10 | Columbus |
| 2015 |
OSU W 44–28 | Columbus |
| 2005 |
OSU W 34–20 | Columbus |
| 1996 |
OSU W 29–16 | away |
| 1995 |
OSU W 45–26 | Columbus |
| 1936 |
OSU L 2–7 | away |
| 1935 |
OSU L 13–18 | Columbus |
2026 schedule
2025 results (10–2)
Statistical comps — 2025 Notre Dame's closest analogs
Nearest neighbors by z-scored success rate, explosiveness, run rate & havoc (offense + defense), 2015–25.
2025 leaders
Transfer portal — 2026 (7 in / 16 out)
Origins
Rockne invented the forward pass as a weapon, the Four Horsemen, and the idea that a Catholic school in Indiana could be America's team. Eleven claimed national titles and the only program that still refuses to join a conference.
Founded 1842 · Founded by Edward Sorin, a 28-year-old French priest, on frozen Indiana land · first football 1887 · defined by Knute Rockne
All-time record
All-time
923–334–36
1893–2025
Win %
72.8%
130 seasons played
Winning seasons
104
80% of seasons
| Best seasons | W | L | Conference |
|---|
| 2024 | 14 | 2 | FBS Independents |
| 1988 | 12 | 0 | FBS Independents |
| 2018 | 12 | 1 | FBS Independents |
| 2012 | 12 | 1 | FBS Independents |
| 1989 | 12 | 1 | FBS Independents |
Season records from CollegeFootballData, which is why the span starts at 1893 — that is where its coverage of this program begins, not necessarily the first year it fielded a team.
Play-calling tendencies (2025 · garbage time excluded)
| Situation | Plays | Run % | Success % | Nat'l | Avg yds | Expl % |
|---|
| 1st down | 293 | 59% |
49% | 31 of 136 | 8.3 | 20% |
| 2nd down | 185 | 55% |
50% | 32 of 136 | 6.8 | 14% |
| 3rd & short (≤3) | 26 | 81% |
54% | — | 3.4 | 8% |
| 3rd & medium (4–7) | 41 | 29% |
59% | — | 6.6 | 15% |
| 3rd & long (8+) | 38 | 24% |
34% | — | 9.3 | 26% |
| 4th down | 24 | 42% |
50% | — | 7.1 | 13% |
141 drives · 46% ended in points · 6.6 plays and 41.1 yards per drive · 1.70 PPA per drive
Success: 50% of yardage needed on 1st, 70% on 2nd, 100% on 3rd/4th. Explosive: 12+ yd rush / 16+ yd pass. National rank is shown only for 1st and 2nd down, where every team has 100+ plays; the later buckets average 18-43 and a rank there would be noise.
League leaderboard →Most valuable plays (by PPA, 2025)
| Wk | Opp | Play | Yds | PPA |
|---|
| 14 | Stanford |
(14:44) No Huddle #40 J.Burnham pass complete short middle to #28 L.Talich caught at UND25… |
84 | 7.33 |
| 10 | Boston College |
Jeremiyah Love 94 Yd Run (Erik Schmidt Kick) |
94 | 6.90 |
| 13 | Syracuse |
(14:36) No Huddle #4 J.Love rush middle for 68 yards gain to the SYR00 TOUCHDOWN, clock 14… |
68 | 6.47 |
| 11 | Navy |
(11:34) No Huddle-Shotgun #22 A.Williams rush right for 54 yards gain to the NAV00 TOUCHDO… |
54 | 6.38 |
| 10 | Boston College |
CJ Carr pass to M. Fields for 40 yds, for a TD |
40 | 5.61 |
| 4 | Purdue |
CJ Carr pass complete to Malachi Fields for 66 yds for a TD (Erik Schmidt KICK) |
66 | 5.34 |
| 14 | Stanford |
(09:17) No Huddle-Shotgun #22 A.Williams rush middle for 51 yards gain to the STAN00 TOUCH… |
51 | 5.16 |
| 13 | Syracuse |
(04:09) No Huddle-Shotgun #24 J.Price rush middle for 58 yards gain to the SYR00 TOUCHDOWN… |
58 | 4.56 |