2020 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team

2020 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football
Rose Bowl (CFP semifinal), L 14–31 vs. Alabama
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 5
APNo. 5
Record10–2 (9–0 ACC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorTommy Rees (1st season)
Offensive schemeMultiple
Defensive coordinatorClark Lea (3rd season)
Base defense4–2–5
CaptainIan Book
Shaun Crawford
Robert Hainsey
Daelin Hayes
Adetokunbo Ogundeji
Home stadiumNotre Dame Stadium
Uniform
Seasons
← 2019
2021 →
2020 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 5 Notre Dame y^   9 0     10 2  
No. 3 Clemson y$^   8 1     10 2  
No. 22 Miami (FL)   7 2     8 3  
No. 18 North Carolina   7 3     8 4  
NC State   7 3     8 4  
Boston College   5 5     6 5  
Pittsburgh   5 5     6 5  
Virginia Tech   5 5     5 6  
Virginia   4 5     5 5  
Wake Forest   3 4     4 5  
Georgia Tech   3 6     3 7  
Louisville   3 7     4 7  
Florida State   2 6     3 6  
Duke   1 9     2 9  
Syracuse   1 9     1 10  
Championship: Clemson 34, Notre Dame 10
  • ^ – College Football Playoff participant
  • $ – Conference champion
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll.

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.

  1. ^ "Notre Dame And ACC To Join Forces In 2020". www.si.com. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
  2. ^ "Notre Dame vs. Wake Forest game cancelled". wndu.com. 1 December 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.