Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1547079
BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM OCT. 17, 2026 9 UNDER THE DOME ✦ BY THE NUMBERS +2.6 Yards per play margin for Notre Dame during its 5-0 start per Brad Powers, a prominent professional sports bettor, handi- capper, sports betting analyst and co-host of the "Hit The Books" podcast. Powers also noted that the Fighting Irish's Sagarin Strength of Schedule was comparable to the country's best teams despite people claiming they have played nobody. ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 10 Through Week 5 Rk. School YPP Margin SOS* 1. Texas +1.1 3 2. Georgia +4.0 86 3. Notre Dame +2.6 21 4. Miami +4.1 80 5. Ohio State +3.3 36 6. Alabama +2.2 9 7. Indiana +3.7 103 8. BYU +2.3 70 9. Ole Miss +0.6 5 10. LSU +2.7 35 * Sagarin Strength of Schedule 3 Of CBS Sports' preseason list of the six most important nonconference games of the 2026 season involved Notre Dame: at BYU Oct. 17, versus Miami Nov. 7 and versus SMU Nov. 21. "With few opportunities to claim signature wins on an otherwise manageable sched- ule, the Fighting Irish face a stiff test trav- eling to Provo, where BYU has gone 5-1 against AP Top 25 teams over the past five seasons," Cody Nagel noted. 5 FBS programs have put together streaks of at least 14 straight victories by double-digit margins in the last 30 years, per CBS re- search: Miami 17 from 2000-01, Florida 15 from 2008-09, Notre Dame 15 from 2025-26, Clemson 14 from 2018-19 and Florida State 14 in 2013. The Hurricanes, Gators, Tigers and Seminoles all won a national champion- ship during their streaks. The Fighting Irish will try to make it five for five this season. 7:54 Time spent trailing for Notre Dame through five games this season. In the season opener Sept. 6, Wis- consin held a 3-0 lead for 5:01. In the victory at North Carolina Oct. 3, the Irish trailed 7-0 for 2:53 before scoring a pair of touchdowns in 15 seconds to take the lead. 8-1 Record (.889 winning per- centage) for Notre Dame in games scheduled to kick off at noon or earlier local time since MARCUS FREEMAN'S first full season as head coach in 2022. With their 37-26 win at North Carolina Oct. 3, the Fighting Irish have now won five consecutive games when the kickoff time has been at noon or earlier local time with Freeman at the helm. Year Opponent Kickoff Time Result 2022 at Syracuse 12 p.m. ET W, 41-24 2022 vs. Navy* 12 p.m. ET W, 35-32 2023 at North Carolina State 12 p.m. ET W, 45-24 2023 at Clemson 12 p.m. ET L, 31-23 2023 vs. Oregon State^ 12 p.m. MT W, 40-8 2024 vs. Navy# 12 p.m. ET W, 51-14 2025 at Arkansas 11 a.m. CT W, 56-13 2025 at Pittsburgh 12 p.m. ET W, 37-15 2026 at North Carolina 12 p.m. ET W, 37-26 * at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore; ^ Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas; # at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. 22 Consecutive college football national champions (2004-25) averaged at least 160 rushing yards per game. After the Fighting Irish's season-high 241 yards at North Carolina, they were averaging 161.6 rushing yards per game. $815 Starting "get-in" ticket price for Notre Dame's matchup against No. 4 Miami Nov. 7 at Notre Dame Stadium, according to TickPick listings checked Oct. 8. Tickets for the Irish's Oct. 17 visit to No. 8 BYU in Provo, Utah, started at $443. TickPick does not charge service fees, and prices are subject to change. Here is a comparison of starting ticket prices for selected upcoming college football games: Starting Rk. Matchup Date "Get-In" Price 1. Miami at Notre Dame Nov. 7 $815 2. Texas at Texas A&M Nov. 27 $515 3. Ohio State at Indiana Oct. 17 $494 4. Notre Dame at BYU Oct. 17 $443 5. Michigan at Ohio State Nov. 28 $401 6. Oklahoma vs. Texas* Oct. 10 $247 * Red River Rivalry at Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas. Prices reflect TickPick's advertised starting prices checked Oct. 8, 2026. 97 Percent chance for Notre Dame to make the College Football Playoff after its 5-0 start, in advance of its matchup against 38-point underdog Stanford Oct. 10. Notre Dame is projected to be heavily favored in five of its last six games: -11.5 at BYU Oct. 17, -31.5 vs. Navy Oct. 31, -5.5 vs. Miami Nov. 7, -37.5 vs. Boston College Nov. 14, -20 vs. SMU Nov. 21 and -26 at Syracuse Nov. 28. "Notre Dame has been viewed as the most likely team to make the CFP since the start of the season, but after a com- fortable 5-0 start, the odds are now at -4000 on FanDuel and -3000 on DraftKings," The Athletic's Dan Santaromita noted. — Steve Downey PHOTO BY LARRY BLANKENSHIP