# 2020 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

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 Notre Dame, 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, 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.

## Offseason
### Departures

NFL
* 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)
* LB Asmar Bilal (signed by the Los Angeles Chargers)
* S Jalen Elliott (signed by the Detroit Lions)
* WR Chris Finke (signed by the San Francisco 49ers)
* LB Jamir Jones (signed by the Houston Texans)
* RB Tony Jones Jr. (signed by the New Orleans Saints)
* CB Donte' Vaughn (signed by the Los Angeles Chargers)
Transfers out
* CB Temitope Agoro (transferred to Duquesne)
* LB Jonathan Jones (transferred to Toledo)
* QB Phil Jurkovec (transferred to Boston College)
* OL John Olmstead (transferred to Lafayette)
* WR/DB Isaiah Robertson (entered transfer portal)
* WR Michael Young Jr. (transferred to Cincinnati)
Other
* OL Cole Mabry (medically retired from football)

### Transfers in

* K Dawson Goepferich (transferred from Brown)
* CB Nick McCloud (transferred from NC State)
* S Isaiah Pryor (transferred from Ohio State)
* WR Ben Skowronek (transferred from Northwestern)

## Schedule

The 2020 schedule was officially released on December 7, 2017.
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. 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, 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), 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).
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. 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 played in-state, 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.
Notre Dame's opening game against Duke marked the first time that the Fighting Irish had ever competed in, or won a conference game.

### Original

| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | TV | Result |
| August 29 | 2:00 p.m. | vs. Navy | Aviva StadiumDublin, Ireland (Emerald Isle Classic, rivalry, College GameDay) | ESPN | No contest |
| September 12 | 2:30 p.m. | Arkansas | Notre Dame StadiumNotre Dame, IN | NBC | No contest |
| September 19 | 2:30 p.m. | Western Michigan | Notre Dame StadiumNotre Dame, IN | NBC | No contest |
| September 26 | | at Wake Forest | Bank of America StadiumCharlotte, NC | | Rescheduled |
| October 3 | 7:30 p.m. | vs. Wisconsin | Lambeau FieldGreen Bay, WI (Shamrock Series) | NBC | No contest |
| October 10 | 7:30 p.m. | Stanford | Notre Dame StadiumNotre Dame, IN (rivalry) | NBC | No contest |
| October 17 | | at Pittsburgh | Heinz FieldPittsburgh, PA (rivalry) | | Rescheduled |
| October 31 | 3:30 p.m. | Duke | Notre Dame StadiumNotre Dame, IN | NBC | Rescheduled |
| November 7 | 7:30 p.m. | Clemson | Notre Dame StadiumNotre Dame, IN | NBC | No change |
| November 14 | | at Georgia Tech | Mercedes-Benz StadiumAtlanta, GA (rivalry) | | Rescheduled |
| November 21 | 2:30 p.m. | Louisville | Notre Dame StadiumNotre Dame, IN | NBC | Rescheduled |
| November 28 | | at USC | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA (rivalry) | | 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 StadiumNotre Dame, IN | NBC | W 27–13 | 10,097 |
| September 19 | 2:30 p.m. | South Florida* | No. 7 | Notre Dame StadiumNotre Dame, IN | USA | W 52–0 | 10,085 |
| October 10 | 7:30 p.m. | Florida State | No. 5 | Notre Dame StadiumNotre Dame, IN (rivalry) | NBC | W 42–26 | 10,409 |
| October 17 | 2:30 p.m. | Louisville | No. 4 | Notre Dame StadiumNotre Dame, IN | NBC | W 12–7 | 10,182 |
| October 24 | 3:30 p.m. | at Pittsburgh | No. 3 | Heinz FieldPittsburgh, PA (rivalry) | ABC | W 45–3 | 5,451 |
| October 31 | 3:30 p.m. | at Georgia Tech | No. 4 | Bobby Dodd StadiumAtlanta, GA (rivalry) | ABC | W 31–13 | 11,000 |
| November 7 | 7:30 p.m. | No. 1 Clemson | No. 4 | Notre Dame StadiumNotre Dame, IN (College GameDay) | NBC, USA | W 47–40 $^{2OT}$ | 11,011 |
| November 14 | 3:30 p.m. | at Boston College | No. 2 | Alumni StadiumChestnut Hill, MA (Holy War) | ABC | W 45–31 | 0 |
| November 27 | 3:30 p.m. | at No. 19 North Carolina | No. 2 | Kenan Memorial StadiumChapel Hill, NC (rivalry) | ABC | W 31–17 | 3,535 |
| December 5 | 2:30 p.m. | Syracuse | No. 2 | Notre Dame StadiumNotre Dame, IN | NBC | W 45–21 | 6,831 |
| December 12 | 3:30 p.m. | Wake Forest | No. 2 | Truist Field at Wake ForestWinston-Salem, NC | ABC | No contest | |
| December 19 | 4:00 p.m. | vs. No. 3 Clemson | No. 2 | Bank of America StadiumCharlotte, 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 StadiumArlington, TX (Rose Bowl – CFP Semifinal, College GameDay) | ESPN | L 14–31 | 18,373 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from AP Poll and CFP Rankings after November 24 released prior to gameAll times are in Eastern time |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking ( ) = First-place votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | 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 | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | Not released |

## Game summaries
### Duke

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Blue Devils | 3 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 13 |
| • No. 10 Fighting Irish | 0 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 27 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| ND –21.5 | 51.5 |
| 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 |
| Duke | Rushing | Deon Jackson | 15 carries, 52 yards |
| Duke | Receiving | Eli Pancol | 3 receptions, 78 yards |
| Notre Dame | Passing | Ian Book | 19/31, 263 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT |
| Notre Dame | Rushing | Kyren Williams | 19 carries, 112 yards, 2 TDs |
| Notre Dame | Receiving | Kyren Williams | 2 receptions, 93 yards |

### South Florida

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bulls | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| • No. 7 Fighting Irish | 14 | 21 | 10 | 7 | 52 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| ND –23 | 49 |
| 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 |
| South Florida | Rushing | Johnny Ford | 6 carries, 70 yards |
| South Florida | Receiving | Latrell Williams | 2 receptions, 48 yards |
| Notre Dame | Passing | Ian Book | 12/19, 144 yards |
| Notre Dame | Rushing | C'Bo Flemister | 13 carries, 127 yards, 1 TD |
| Notre Dame | Receiving | Tommy Tremble | 3 receptions, 61 yards |

### Florida State

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Seminoles | 17 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 26 |
| • No. 5 Fighting Irish | 14 | 21 | 7 | 0 | 42 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| ND –21 | 53.5 |
| 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 |
| Florida State | Rushing | Jordan Travis | 19 carries, 96 yards, 1 TD |
| Florida State | Receiving | Tamorrion Terry | 9 receptions, 146 yards, 1 TD |
| Notre Dame | Passing | Ian Book | 16/25, 201 yards, 2 TDs |
| Notre Dame | Rushing | Kyren Williams | 19 carries, 185 yards, 2 TDs |
| Notre Dame | Receiving | Javon McKinley | 5 receptions, 107 yards |

### Louisville

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Cardinals | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| • No. 4 Fighting Irish | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 12 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| ND –16 | 62 |
| 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 |
| Louisville | Rushing | Javian Hawkins | 15 carries, 51 yards |
| Louisville | Receiving | Javian Hawkins | 5 receptions, 46 yards |
| Notre Dame | Passing | Ian Book | 11/19, 106 yards |
| Notre Dame | Rushing | Kyren Williams | 25 carries, 127 yards |
| Notre Dame | Receiving | Ben Skowronek | 2 receptions, 28 yards |

### At Pittsburgh

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 3 Fighting Irish | 7 | 21 | 17 | 0 | 45 |
| Panthers | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| ND –10 | 43.5 |
| 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 |
| Notre Dame | Rushing | C'Bo Flemister | 13 carries, 48 yards, 1 TD |
| Notre Dame | Receiving | Ben Skowronek | 2 receptions, 107 yards, 2 TDs |
| Pittsburgh | Passing | Joey Yellen | 10/27, 101 yards, 3 INTs |
| Pittsburgh | Rushing | Vincent Davis | 8 carries, 28 yards |
| Pittsburgh | Receiving | Jordan Addison | 3 receptions, 40 yards |

### At Georgia Tech

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 4 Fighting Irish | 7 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 31 |
| Yellow Jackets | 0 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 13 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| ND –20.5 | 58.5 |
| 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 |
| Notre Dame | Rushing | Kyren Williams | 15 carries, 76 yards, 2 TDs |
| Notre Dame | Receiving | Javon McKinley | 5 receptions, 93 yards |
| Georgia Tech | Passing | Jeff Sims | 15/26, 150 yards |
| Georgia Tech | Rushing | Jahmyr Gibbs | 14 carries, 61 yards |
| Georgia Tech | Receiving | Jahmyr Gibbs | 5 receptions, 49 yards |

### Clemson

| | 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 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| CU –4.5 | 51 |
| 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 | DJ Uiagalelei | 29/44, 439 yards, 2 TDs |
| Clemson | Rushing | Travis Etienne | 18 carries, 28 yards, 1 TD |
| Clemson | Receiving | Amari Rodgers | 8 receptions, 134 yards |
| Notre Dame | Passing | Ian Book | 22/39, 310 yards, 1 TD |
| Notre Dame | Rushing | Kyren Williams | 23 carries, 140 yards, 3 TDs |
| Notre Dame | Receiving | Javon McKinley | 5 receptions, 102 yards |

### At Boston College

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 2 Fighting Irish | 10 | 21 | 7 | 7 | 45 |
| Eagles | 10 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 31 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| ND –13 | 51.5 |
| 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 |
| Notre Dame | Rushing | Ian Book | 10 carries, 85 yards, 1 TD |
| Notre Dame | Receiving | Avery Davis | 2 receptions, 70 yards |
| Boston College | Passing | Phil Jurkovec | 18/40, 272 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT |
| Boston College | Rushing | Travis Levy | 9 carries, 51 yards |
| Boston College | Receiving | Jaelen Gill | 5 receptions, 105 yards |

### At North Carolina

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 2 Fighting Irish | 14 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 31 |
| No. 19 Tar Heels | 14 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| ND –4.5 | 69.5 |
| 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 |
| Notre Dame | Rushing | Kyren Williams | 23 carries, 124 yards, 2 TDs |
| Notre Dame | Receiving | Javon McKinley | 6 receptions, 135 yards |
| North Carolina | Passing | Sam Howell | 17/27, 211 yards, 1 TD |
| North Carolina | Rushing | Michael Carter | 8 carries, 57 yards |
| North Carolina | Receiving | Dyami Brown | 4 receptions, 84 yards |

### Syracuse

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Orange | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| • No. 2 Fighting Irish | 3 | 21 | 14 | 7 | 45 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| ND –34 | 51 |
| 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 |
| Syracuse | Rushing | Sean Tucker | 24 carries, 113 yards, 1 TD |
| Syracuse | Receiving | Taj Harris | 8 receptions, 69 yards |
| Notre Dame | Passing | Ian Book | 24/37, 285 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT |
| Notre Dame | Rushing | Kyren Williams | 20 carries, 110 yards |
| Notre Dame | Receiving | Javon McKinley | 7 receptions, 111 yards, 3 TDs |

### Vs. Clemson (ACC Championship)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| • No. 3 Tigers | 7 | 17 | 7 | 3 | 34 |
| No. 2 Fighting Irish | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| CU –10.5 | 58 |
| 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 |
| Clemson | Rushing | Travis Etienne | 10 carries, 124 yards, 1 TD |
| Clemson | Receiving | Amari Rodgers | 8 receptions, 121 yards, 1 TD |
| Notre Dame | Passing | Ian Book | 20/28, 219 yards |
| Notre Dame | Rushing | Kyren Williams | 15 carries, 50 yards |
| Notre Dame | Receiving | Michael Mayer | 5 receptions, 51 yards |

### Vs. Alabama (Rose Bowl)

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| No. 4 Fighting Irish | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| • No. 1 Alabama | 14 | 7 | 7 | 3 | 31 |
| Pregame line | Over/under |
| UA –19.5 | 65.5 |
| 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 |
| Notre Dame | Rushing | Kyren Williams | 16 carries, 64 yards, 1 TD |
| Notre Dame | Receiving | Kyren Williams | 8 receptions, 31 yards |
| Alabama | Passing | Mac Jones | 25/30, 297 yards, 4 TDs |
| Alabama | Rushing | Najee Harris | 15 carries, 125 yards |
| Alabama | 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 |