2020 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team explained

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.^[1] 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,^[2] 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)^[3]

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.^[4]

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.^[5] 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,^[6] 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),^[7] 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).^{[8] [9]}

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.^[10] 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.^[11]

Notre Dame's opening game against Duke marked the first time that the Fighting Irish had ever competed in, or won a conference game.^[12]

Revised

Game summaries

Duke

See also: 2020 Duke Blue Devils football team.

style=	Pregame line!	style=	Over/under
ND –21.5	51.5[13]

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		20/37, 259 yards
Rushing		15 carries, 52 yards
Receiving	Eli Pancol	3 receptions, 78 yards
Notre Dame	Passing		19/31, 263 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing		19 carries, 112 yards, 2 TDs
Receiving	Kyren Williams	2 receptions, 93 yards

South Florida

See also: 2020 South Florida Bulls football team.

style=	Pregame line!	style=	Over/under
ND –23	49[14]

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		8/14, 64 yards
Rushing	Johnny Ford	6 carries, 70 yards
Receiving	Latrell Williams	2 receptions, 48 yards
Notre Dame	Passing	Ian Book	12/19, 144 yards
Rushing	C'Bo Flemister	13 carries, 127 yards, 1 TD
Receiving		3 receptions, 61 yards

Florida State

See also: 2020 Florida State Seminoles football team.

style=	Pregame line!	style=	Over/under
ND –21	53.5[15]

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		13/24, 204 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing	Jordan Travis	19 carries, 96 yards, 1 TD
Receiving		9 receptions, 146 yards, 1 TD
Notre Dame	Passing	Ian Book	16/25, 201 yards, 2 TDs
Rushing	Kyren Williams	19 carries, 185 yards, 2 TDs
Receiving		5 receptions, 107 yards

Louisville

See also: 2020 Louisville Cardinals football team.

style=	Pregame line!	style=	Over/under
ND –16	62[16]

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		16/19, 132 yards, 1 TD
Rushing		15 carries, 51 yards
Receiving	Javian Hawkins	5 receptions, 46 yards
Notre Dame	Passing	Ian Book	11/19, 106 yards
Rushing	Kyren Williams	25 carries, 127 yards
Receiving		2 receptions, 28 yards

At Pittsburgh

See also: 2020 Pittsburgh Panthers football team and Notre Dame–Pittsburgh football rivalry.

style=	Pregame line!	style=	Over/under
ND –10	43.5[17]

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
Rushing	C'Bo Flemister	13 carries, 48 yards, 1 TD
Receiving	Ben Skowronek	2 receptions, 107 yards, 2 TDs
Pittsburgh	Passing		10/27, 101 yards, 3 INTs
Rushing	Vincent Davis	8 carries, 28 yards
Receiving		3 receptions, 40 yards

At Georgia Tech

See also: 2020 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team.

style=	Pregame line!	style=	Over/under
ND –20.5	58.5[18]

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
Rushing	Kyren Williams	15 carries, 76 yards, 2 TDs
Receiving	Javon McKinley	5 receptions, 93 yards
Georgia Tech	Passing		15/26, 150 yards
Rushing		14 carries, 61 yards
Receiving	Jahmyr Gibbs	5 receptions, 49 yards

Clemson

See also: 2020 Clemson Tigers football team and 2020 Clemson vs. Notre Dame football game.

style=	Pregame line!	style=	Over/under
CU –4.5	51[19]

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		29/44, 439 yards, 2 TDs
Rushing		18 carries, 28 yards, 1 TD
Receiving		8 receptions, 134 yards
Notre Dame	Passing	Ian Book	22/39, 310 yards, 1 TD
Rushing	Kyren Williams	23 carries, 140 yards, 3 TDs
Receiving	Javon McKinley	5 receptions, 102 yards

At Boston College

See also: 2020 Boston College Eagles football team and Holy War (Boston College–Notre Dame).

style=	Pregame line!	style=	Over/under
ND –13	51.5[20]

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
Rushing	Ian Book	10 carries, 85 yards, 1 TD
Receiving	Avery Davis	2 receptions, 70 yards
Boston College	Passing		18/40, 272 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT
Rushing	Travis Levy	9 carries, 51 yards
Receiving	Jaelen Gill	5 receptions, 105 yards

At North Carolina

See also: 2020 North Carolina Tar Heels football team.

style=	Pregame line!	style=	Over/under
ND –4.5	69.5[21]

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
Rushing	Kyren Williams	23 carries, 124 yards, 2 TDs
Receiving	Javon McKinley	6 receptions, 135 yards
North Carolina	Passing		17/27, 211 yards, 1 TD
Rushing		8 carries, 57 yards
Receiving		4 receptions, 84 yards

Syracuse

See also: 2020 Syracuse Orange football team.

style=	Pregame line!	style=	Over/under
ND –34	51[22]

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

At Wake Forest (No Contest)

See also: 2020 Wake Forest Demon Deacons football team.

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N/A	N/A[23]

The No. 2 Notre Dame at Wake Forest game was canceled by the ACC, due to an evaluation of the three teams in contention to play in the ACC Championship Game and the game was not rescheduled. Instead, Notre Dame ended their regular season vs. Syracuse and had a bye this week, and Wake Forest played a replacement game at Louisville.^[24]

Vs. Clemson (ACC Championship)

See also: 2020 Clemson Tigers football team and 2020 ACC Championship Game.

style=	Pregame line!	style=	Over/under
CU –10.5	58[25]

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		25/36, 322 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT
Rushing		10 carries, 124 yards, 1 TD
Receiving		8 receptions, 121 yards, 1 TD
Notre Dame	Passing	Ian Book	20/28, 219 yards
Rushing	Kyren Williams	15 carries, 50 yards
Receiving	Michael Mayer	5 receptions, 51 yards

Vs. Alabama (Rose Bowl)

See also: 2020 Alabama Crimson Tide football team and 2021 Rose Bowl.

style=	Pregame line!	style=	Over/under
UA –19.5	65.5[26]

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
Rushing	Kyren Williams	16 carries, 64 yards, 1 TD
Receiving	Kyren Williams	8 receptions, 31 yards
Alabama	Passing		25/30, 297 yards, 4 TDs
Rushing		15 carries, 125 yards
Receiving		7 receptions, 130 yards, 3 TDs

Players drafted into the NFL

See also: 2021 NFL draft.

2	42		OT	Miami Dolphins
2	48		OG	San Francisco 49ers
2	52		ILB	Cleveland Browns
3	83		TE	Carolina Panthers
3	95		OT	Tampa Bay Buccaneers
4	133		QB	New Orleans Saints
5	171		DE	Baltimore Ravens
5	182		DE	Atlanta Falcons
7	249		WR	Los Angeles Rams

Notes and References

1. Web site: Notre Dame And ACC To Join Forces In 2020 . www.si.com . 9 November 2022.
2. Web site: Notre Dame vs. Wake Forest game cancelled . wndu.com . 1 December 2020 . 4 December 2020.
3. https://www.si.com/college/notredame/football/notre-dame-football-cole-mabry-retires Notre Dame Cole Mabry retires
4. Web site: Notre Dame Announces 2020 Football Schedule. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20180817122407/http://www.und.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/120717aac.html. 17 August 2018. 18 August 2018. und.com.
5. Web site: Notre Dame has cancelled the Blue-Gold Spring Game. 2020-07-11. IrishIllustrated.com. en-US.
6. Web site: 2 June 2020. Notre Dame-Navy game moved from Ireland. June 14, 2020. ESPN.com. en.
7. Web site: 2017-08-14. ND-Wisconsin tilts at Lambeau, Soldier fields. 2020-07-11. ESPN.com. en.
8. Web site: 2020-07-11. What do Pac-12 and Big Ten decisions mean for college football?. 2020-07-11. ESPN.com. en.
9. Web site: 2020-07-09. Big Ten going to conference-only slate this fall. 2020-07-10. ESPN.com. en.
10. Web site: Brian Kelly: 'there's plenty of games for us to play'. 2020-07-17. 247Sports. en-US.
11. Web site: 2020-07-30. ACC sets 11-game slate, includes Notre Dame. 2020-07-30. ESPN.com. en.
12. Web site: Notre Dame vs. Duke score, takeaways: No. 10 Irish win opener with even effort in tough conditions. 2020-09-13. CBSSports.com. en.
13. Web site: Duke Blue Devils vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Odds Shark. November 7, 2020. en.
14. Web site: USF Bulls vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Odds Shark. November 7, 2020. en.
15. Web site: Florida State Seminoles vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Odds Shark. November 7, 2020. en.
16. Web site: Louisville Cardinals vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Odds Shark. November 7, 2020. en.
17. Web site: Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs Pittsburgh Panthers. Odds Shark. November 7, 2020. en.
18. Web site: Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Odds Shark. November 7, 2020. en.
19. Web site: Clemson Tigers vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Odds Shark. November 8, 2020. en.
20. Web site: Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs Boston College Eagles. Odds Shark. November 14, 2020. en.
21. Web site: Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs North Carolina Tar Heels. Odds Shark. November 24, 2020. en.
22. Web site: Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs Syracuse Orange. Odds Shark. December 5, 2020. en.
23. Web site: Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Odds Shark. January 14, 2021. en.
24. News: Notre Dame vs. Wake Forest game cancelled. wndu.com. December 1, 2020. December 4, 2020.
25. Web site: Clemson Tigers vs Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Odds Shark. December 13, 2020. en.
26. Web site: Notre Dame Fighting Irish vs Alabama Crimson Tide. Odds Shark. December 21, 2020. en.