The 2020 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team was an American football team that, due to COVID-19 restrictions on non-conference games, represented the University of Notre Dame as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) during the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. In their 11th year under head coach Brian Kelly, the Irish compiled a 10–2 record (9–0 in ACC games), outscored opponents by a total of 401 to 236, and were ranked No. 5 in the final AP and Coaches Polls. They were undefeated in the regular season but lost to Clemson in the ACC Championship Game and to Alabama in the Rose Bowl (CFP semifinal). Because of COVID restrictions, Notre Dame did not play its rivalry games against Navy (previously played every season since 1927), USC (since 1946), or Stanford (since 1997).
The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Ian Book (2,830 passing yards), running back Kyren Williams (1,125 rushing yards), wide receiver Javon McKinley (717 receiving yards), and kicker Jonathan Doerer (93 points scored). Offensive linemen Aaron Banks and Liam Eichenberg and linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah were selected as consensus first-team players on the 2020 All-America college football team.
The team played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in Notre Dame, Indiana.
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)Notre Dame Cole Mabry retires Sports Illustrated.
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
Revised
Rankings
Personnel
Game summaries
Duke
Statistics DukeNotre 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 StatisticsDuke Passing Chase Brice 20/37, 259 yards Rushing Deon Jackson 15 carries, 52 yards Receiving Eli Pancol 3 receptions, 78 yardsNotre Dame Passing Ian Book 19/31, 263 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT Rushing Kyren Williams 19 carries, 112 yards, 2 TDs Receiving Kyren Williams 2 receptions, 93 yards
South Florida
Statistics South FloridaNotre 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 StatisticsSouth Florida Passing Jordan McCloud 8/14, 64 yards Rushing Johnny Ford 6 carries, 70 yards Receiving Latrell Williams 2 receptions, 48 yardsNotre Dame Passing Ian Book 12/19, 144 yards Rushing C'Bo Flemister 13 carries, 127 yards, 1 TD Receiving Tommy Tremble 3 receptions, 61 yards
Florida State
Statistics Florida StateNotre 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 StatisticsFlorida State Passing Jordan Travis 13/24, 204 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT Rushing Jordan Travis 19 carries, 96 yards, 1 TD Receiving Tamorrion Terry 9 receptions, 146 yards, 1 TDNotre Dame Passing Ian Book 16/25, 201 yards, 2 TDs Rushing Kyren Williams 19 carries, 185 yards, 2 TDs Receiving Javon McKinley 5 receptions, 107 yards
Louisville
Statistics LouisvilleNotre 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 StatisticsLouisville Passing Malik Cunningham 16/19, 132 yards, 1 TD Rushing Javian Hawkins 15 carries, 51 yards Receiving Javian Hawkins 5 receptions, 46 yardsNotre Dame Passing Ian Book 11/19, 106 yards Rushing Kyren Williams 25 carries, 127 yards Receiving Ben Skowronek 2 receptions, 28 yards
At Pittsburgh
Statistics Notre DamePittsburgh 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 StatisticsNotre 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 TDsPittsburgh Passing Joey Yellen 10/27, 101 yards, 3 INTs Rushing Vincent Davis 8 carries, 28 yards Receiving Jordan Addison 3 receptions, 40 yards
At Georgia Tech
Statistics Notre DameGeorgia 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 StatisticsNotre 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 yardsGeorgia Tech Passing Jeff Sims 15/26, 150 yards Rushing Jahmyr Gibbs 14 carries, 61 yards Receiving Jahmyr Gibbs 5 receptions, 49 yards
Clemson
Statistics ClemsonNotre 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 StatisticsClemson Passing DJ Uiagalelei 29/44, 439 yards, 2 TDs Rushing Travis Etienne 18 carries, 28 yards, 1 TD Receiving Amari Rodgers 8 receptions, 134 yardsNotre 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
Statistics Notre DameBoston 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 StatisticsNotre 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 yardsBoston College Passing Phil Jurkovec 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
Statistics Notre DameNorth 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 StatisticsNotre 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 yardsNorth Carolina Passing Sam Howell 17/27, 211 yards, 1 TD Rushing Michael Carter 8 carries, 57 yards Receiving Dyami Brown 4 receptions, 84 yards
Syracuse
Statistics SyracuseNotre 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 StatisticsSyracuse Passing Rex Culpepper 18/29, 185 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT Rushing Sean Tucker 24 carries, 113 yards, 1 TD Receiving Taj Harris 8 receptions, 69 yardsNotre Dame Passing Ian Book 24/37, 285 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT Rushing Kyren Williams 20 carries, 110 yards Receiving Javon McKinley 7 receptions, 111 yards, 3 TDs
Vs. Clemson (ACC Championship)
Statistics ClemsonNotre 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 StatisticsClemson Passing Trevor Lawrence 25/36, 322 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT Rushing Travis Etienne 10 carries, 124 yards, 1 TD Receiving Amari Rodgers 8 receptions, 121 yards, 1 TDNotre 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)
Statistics Notre DameAlabama 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 StatisticsNotre 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 yardsAlabama Passing Mac Jones 25/30, 297 yards, 4 TDs Rushing Najee Harris 15 carries, 125 yards Receiving DeVonta Smith 7 receptions, 130 yards, 3 TDs
Players drafted into the NFL
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
References