Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM FEBRUARY 2026 37 6 rebounds. Iyana Moore added 12 and Malaya Cowles 10 for the Irish, who only went six deep for the second game in a row. Duke grad transfer Vanessa de Jesus struggled against her former team with more fouls (4) than points (3). Much was made of Notre Dame's lack of depth in both the Georgia Tech and Duke losses, but the Blue Devils only went seven deep, and Arianna Roberson only played nine scoreless minutes. "I talked about not surrendering to that," Ivey said of the depth situation, with injured starting guard KK Brans- ford, out indefinitely with a knee injury, the biggest challenge. "Again, we know our situation. "We have a great performance team. We're in great shape. We can't surren- der to the situation. You've got to still fight." Duke, meanwhile, has fought back from a 3-6 record with six straight wins to more resemble a team picked to win the ACC in the preseason and launch its season as a top-10 team. The Irish, still collecting 27 poll points — second-most among un- ranked team, were set to return home for a matchup against what is purported to be one of the worst Power Four teams nationally in Boston College (4-13, 0-4) Jan. 8. But then it's a stretch of three straight ranked opponents for the Irish — ACC heavyweights North Carolina and Louisville, and No. 1 Connecticut, with the Jan. 19 nonconference game against the Huskies on the road. "This is a super-tough month for us," Ivey said. "And also, it's ACC play, so it's going to be tough. So, we've got to find a way to win and have that will to win." ✦ Framing Notre Dame's Big Picture As ACC Play Heats Up The Notre Dame women's basketball team rang in the New Year on the road at Georgia Tech Jan. 1 as a lingering surprise on the national scene with ACC play starting to heat up. Then the Irish went splat, losing back-to-back conference games to the Yellow Jackets (95-90 in over- time) and Duke (82-68) three days later. In the Dec. 30 ESPN Bracketology, the Irish (10-4, 2-2 ACC) were projected as a No. 4 seed in the 2026 NCAA Tournament and, thus, a host team for first- and second-round games. Georgia Tech (5-9, 0-2) was one of 12 ACC teams not projected into the field. None of the modest six ACC teams projected in the field were higher than a 4 seed at the moment. By comparison, the Big Ten had 13 teams in the field of 68, the SEC 11 and the Big 12 eight. Talia Goodman, the national women's college basketball and recruiting reporter for On3/Rivals, helped provide Blue & Gold Illustrated with a big-picture snapshot of Notre Dame and the ACC as the calendar flipped to 2026. BGI: As we look at the Associated Press rankings right now, there are only two ACC teams in the top 25, with Notre Dame falling out Jan. 5. What has happened to the ACC's strength this year? Goodman: "It's definitely a down year for the ACC, and I think part of it is just how strong the Big Ten and the SEC were in the transfer portal this year. I think that is a big part of it. "The bottom of the ACC has always been not as strong as the bottom of the SEC or the bottom of the Big Ten, which makes the strength of schedule go down a little bit. I thought the Triangle was going to be the strongest part of the ACC — Duke, NC State, North Carolina. "I think North Carolina has kind of held up their part of the bargain, but Duke and NC State, in the beginning of the year, had some adjustments they needed to make. I wouldn't be surprised if both of them end up back in the top 25 by the end of the year, though." BGI: Do you think that this is a trend for the ACC or could be a one-off as far as a down cycle? Or is it too early to tell until we see the next portal cycle play out? Goodman: "I think a lot of it is how much athletic departments are willing to invest in women's basketball right now. And we're seeing that for the Big Ten, they really are. For the SEC, they always have been. "And now with rev-share, it just depends. I don't think you have a clear-cut answer. One year isn't really a big enough sample size to judge on quite yet. But I don't think it's going to be this level of a down year next year." BGI: What kind of shot do you think Notre Dame has at winning the ACC title, and how soon do you think we'll have a really good feel for that? Goodman: "At the beginning of the year, I probably would have said a 0 percent chance of winning the ACC title. Now, seeing what the ACC is, I think it's a non-zero chance for sure. They're definitely not my favorite to win it, but it's not impossible. The situation they're in this year, where they're so reliant on Hannah Hidalgo to do everything, is not optimal for any sort of tournament setting, where you're playing a number of games days in a row. "And I say that for the NCAA Tournament, too, with a number of other teams who are reliant on one player and don't have a deep bench. That's the biggest thing that has worried me about Notre Dame and still continues to be a concern for me for Notre Dame. But I definitely feel better about their chances now that I did on Nov. 2, so that's good." BGI: What is your assessment of Notre Dame's recently signed five-player 2026 recruiting class and their start on the 2027 cycle? Goodman: "I really love it. They have done everything right, recruiting-wise, and I think they're at a real advantage, because they're valuing high school recruiting, where a lot of teams are shying away from it now. Not fully, but kind of holding out for portal kids. Notre Dame is going the opposite route and is really attacking high school recruits. "I really like the class they've built, and then you have [rehabbing freshman] Leah Macy, who will hopefully be healthy next year and will join in that conversation. I think they easily have one of the best recruiting classes in the country, and they're in on a bunch of kids in the 2027 class, too. "It's too early to know where that will wind up. But it's a good start for them, and I think the 2026 class, will make this team considerably better." — Eric Hansen 2025-26 NOTRE DAME SCHEDULE & RESULTS (10-4 OVERALL, 2-2 ACC) Date Opponent (TV) Time (ET)/Result Nov. 5 Fairleigh Dickinson W, 98-52 Nov. 9 Chicago State W, 116-58 Nov. 12 Akron W, 85-58 Nov. 15 vs. Michigan! L, 93-54 Nov. 21 Southern Cal W, 61-59 Nov. 24 Central Michigan W, 83-51 Dec. 4 at Ole Miss^ L, 69-62 Dec. 7 at Florida State* W, 93-58 Dec. 11 Morehead State W, 97-48 Dec. 14 at James Madison W, 78-65 Dec. 21 Bellarmine W, 110-38 Dec. 29 at Pittsburgh* W, 94-59 Jan. 1 at Georgia Tech* L, 95-90 (OT) Jan. 4 at Duke* L, 82-68 Jan. 8 Boston College* (ACCNX) 6 p.m. Jan. 11 North Carolina* (ESPN) 1 p.m. Jan. 15 Louisville* (ACCN) 6 p.m. Jan. 19 at Connecticut (FOX) 5 p.m. Jan. 22 Miami* (ACCN) 6 p.m. Jan. 25 Clemson* (ACCNX) 3 p.m. Jan. 29 at California* (ACCNX) 10 p.m. Feb. 1 at Stanford* (CW) 4 p.m. Feb. 5 Virginia Tech* (ACCNX) 7 p.m. Feb. 8 at Virginia* (ACCNX) 2 p.m. Feb. 15 NC State* (ESPN) TBA Feb. 19 at Wake Forest* (ACCNX) 6 p.m. Feb. 22 at SMU* (ACCN) 6 p.m. Feb. 26 Syracuse* (ACCNX) 7 p.m. March 1 at Louisville* (ESPN2) 4 p.m. ! Shamrock Classic at Detroit; ^ ACC/SEC Challenge; * ACC Game