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.
Contents
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)
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.