Notre Dame Fighting Irish football series records

The following is a list of Notre Dame Fighting Irish football records against their opponents. These statistics are current through the end of the 2016 season. The following list includes all Notre Dame Fighting Irish football opponents and all current NCAA FBS teams. These stats are according to Notre Dame Fighting Irish football school records.

All-time record

All-time record: 896–321–42 (.728)

As of November 22, 2016, Notre Dame has the second highest winning percentage of any team in college football that has played more than 500 games. In late 2013, it claimed this record from Michigan^[1] after the Wolverines suffered several unsuccessful seasons under coach Rich Rodriguez.^[2] Notre Dame has returned to number 2 behind Michigan in all-time winning percentage.

Notre Dame is also second in terms of all-time victories trailing only the Michigan Wolverines.^[3] Michigan, however, played its first game in 1879 while Notre Dame began playing in 1887.^[4]

Record against opponents

Notre Dame frequently plays a national schedule^[5] in which it plays teams from coast to coast to serve a national alumni and fan base^[6] and a national recruiting base.^[7] This scheduling approach began one hundred years ago under Notre Dame athletics director and head coach Jesse Harper^[8] and may have been the result of a boycott led by Michigan's Fielding Yost.^[9][10]

Notre Dame's first game was on November 23, 1887 against the University of Michigan which it lost 8-0.^[11] Since that time Notre Dame has played 1247 games in 126 seasons against 145 different opponents in 36 states.^[12][13] Its most common opponents have been rival Navy (89 games) and rival USC (87 games).

As of the end of the 2016-2017 season, Notre Dame has played teams from every current FBS conference except the Sun Belt Conference. Of the power five conferences, Notre Dame has played every team from the Big 10, Pac-12, and the Atlantic Coast Conference. It has not played four teams from the Big 12 (Iowa State, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, and Texas Tech) and four teams from the SEC (Arkansas, Auburn, Kentucky, and Mississippi State).^[14]

As of the 2015^[15][16] season, Notre Dame holds a record of 244-127-16 against the Big 10. It has a winning record against every team in the conference except Michigan, Nebraska, and Ohio State. Its most frequent opponents in the Big 10 are Purdue (86 games) and Michigan State (77).^[17] Against teams currently in the Pac-12, Notre Dame has a record of 93-53-6. It has a winning record against every team except Oregon State. Its most frequent opponents in the Pac-12 are USC (87 games) and Stanford (30 games). Against the ACC, Notre Dame has a record of 139-59-3. It has a winning record against every team they played in that conference except Clemson, Florida State, North Carolina State, and Louisville. Its most frequent ACC opponents are Pittsburgh (70 games) and Georgia Tech (35 games).^[18][19] Against the Big 12, Notre Dame has a record of 29-5-1. It has a winning record against every team they played in the conference. Its most frequent opponents in the Big 12 are Texas (11 games) and Oklahoma (11 games).^[20] Against the SEC, Notre Dame has a record of 27-18. It has a winning or tied record with every team they played in that conference except Georgia. Its most frequent opponent in the SEC is LSU (10 games).^[21][22]

Since the advent of subdivisions in college football in 1978, Notre Dame has never played teams from a lower subdivision. This is a distinction they share with USC and UCLA.^[23][24]

Table

^{[15][43][44][45]}

Indicates Division I conferences and/or teams that do not sponsor football.

1. These opponents do not have a current conference due to not being affiliated with the NCAA, such as exhibition games against non-collegiate athletic clubs.
2. DePaul University was called Saint Vincent's College when Notre Dame played them.

References