Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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4 SEPT. 12, 2026 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED L eave No Doubt" became and re- mained the clear and consistent mes- sage from Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman to his team the moment the Irish were surprisingly left out of the College Football Playoff last December. Despite winning 10 straight games after two early losses and finishing the season 10-2 — with those two losses coming only to CFP participants Miami (Fla.) and Texas A&M by a total of four points — the Irish were left out, mark- ing an abrupt end to the 2025 season while also launching the beginning of the 2026 redemption tour. The mission for Notre Dame this sea- son is straightforward: win, win big and give the CFP selection committee no excuse or reason to leave the Irish out when it chooses its 12-team field three months from now. And that journey continues when Rice pays a visit to Notre Dame Sta- dium. Given that the Owls haven't had a winning record season since 2014, Rice doesn't seem like much of an upset can- didate. Notre Dame is projected be a five-touchdown favorite. But considering the early season strug- gles Freeman has suffered during his first four seasons on the Irish sideline — es- pecially in this Game 2 spot — nothing is guaranteed. Remarkably, Notre Dame has lost its second game of the season three times in its four years under Freeman — all at home — with its only win coming in 2023 against FCS foe Tennessee State. The dubious list of Game 2 losses in- cludes Marshall in 2022 as a three-touch- down favorite and Northern Illinois in 2024 as a four-touchdown favorite. Freeman is well aware of these early season struggles, and he spent much of spring ball and training camp trying to address the September slump. "How do we make that better?" said Freeman, who is only 6-4 in his 10 Sep- tember home games. "How do we fix the way we start? We don't want to blow it up. We're doing something that's right. But there's a way to get better, and we just have to find it." And with a slim two-game Septem- ber home schedule this season made up only of Rice Sept. 12 and Michigan State Sept. 19, there is no excuse for Freeman to not escape this month unscathed on his home turf for the first time. For what it's worth, like Freeman, previous Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly was also plagued by slow starts and building a home-field advantage during his first four seasons on the job. The all-time winningest Irish skipper went only 19-6 at Notre Dame Stadium from 2010-13, just 6-4 in September home games during those four years, and also lost three times in his second game of those four seasons — with all three of those defeats coming to Michigan. Kelly changed his fortunes and made Notre Dame Stadium one of the tough- est venues in the country to visit when he won 31 of 33 home games from 2017-21, with a 26-game home winning streak and three consecutive undefeated seasons at home (2018-20) included. Hopefully, Freeman can make a similar early season turnaround. Freeman has lost at least one Sep- tember home game in all four of his sea- sons on the job. Conversely, Freeman has won 15 straight home games and lost just once at the Stadium during his career in October and November — his only defeat in those two months coming to Stanford in October 2022 during his first full season on the job. Leaving no doubt, Freeman's Irish won those 15 consecutive home games by an average of more than 30 points. "We still have to evaluate what we're doing," Freeman explained. "But I think as you look over the four years, we've improved as a team as the season goes on. There is something we're doing in our process that is helping us improve and play better at the end of the season." Barring any impactful injuries, expect Notre Dame to be at least a touchdown favorite in every game this season. And Freeman believes that all the pieces are in place with a proven roster, coaching continuity and the hard les- sons learned from the playoff miss last season to avoid any slip-ups and finally enjoy an undefeated regular season at home, starting with Rice. "With returning all three coordina- tors, with returning the starting quar- terback, with so much experience and production returning, you're farther ahead schematically," Freeman ex- plained of what's most special about this team. "That gives you a chance." ✦ Notre Dame is just 6-4 at home in September under head coach Marcus Freeman, including a stunning 16-14 loss to four-touchdown underdog Northern Illinois in 2024. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER Todd D. Burlage has been a writer for Blue & Gold Illustrated since July 2005. He can be reached at toddburlage@gmail.com UPON FURTHER REVIEW TODD D. BURLAGE The Irish Aim For Early Season, Home-Field Success "