After a long and eventful offseason, Notre Dame football is finally back. And while the start of every new season brings immense excitement for Irish fans worldwide, the 2024 season opener will pack an extra punch. That’s because on Saturday night, Notre Dame will face off against No. 20 Texas A&M in College Station in one of the nation’s premier games of the week, a matchup that now looms even larger after No. 10 Florida State — the top-ranked opponent on the Irish schedule — suffered a shocking upset loss to Georgia Tech in Dublin.
Notre Dame is no stranger to doing battle with top-tier opponents, but in recent years, it’s been relatively uncommon that it kicks off a season against a team the caliber of the Aggies, especially in one of college football’s most hostile road environments. Since 2000, Notre Dame has begun its season against a team ranked in the preseason AP Poll just six times prior to Saturday’s game. As the Irish get set to begin their push toward the newly expanded 12-team College Football Playoff with one of their toughest season openers in recent memory, here’s a look back at those six matchups and what the results portended for the remainder of those seasons.
2000: Notre Dame 24, No. 25 Texas A&M 10
It’s fitting that this list begins with a duel against Saturday’s opponent, although the 2000 edition of Irish vs. Aggies differed in that it took place in the friendly confines of Notre Dame Stadium. Notre Dame entered the season unranked following a disappointing 1999 season that saw it drop its final four games to finish 5-7 (their first season below .500 since 1986), but it didn’t take long to right the ship the following fall. After a slow start allowed the Aggies to jump out to a 7-0 lead in the second quarter, Irish quarterback Arnaz Battle caught fire in his first career start, tossing a pair of touchdown passes and adding 50 yards on the ground. The stifling Notre Dame defense did the rest, holding Texas A&M to just three second-half points en route to a 14-point victory.
One week after the big win, the Irish would push No. 1 Nebraska to the brink before succumbing to the Cornhuskers in overtime. That game also cost Notre Dame its quarterback, as Battle was lost for the season with a wrist injury on the opening play from scrimmage. With true freshman Matt LoVecchio filling in admirably under center for the remainder of the season, the Irish finished 9-3 and reached the Fiesta Bowl, where they fell to Oregon State.
2001: No. 5 Nebraska 27, No. 17 Notre Dame 10
One year after nearly pulling off a stunning upset over Nebraska at home, the Irish entered the 2001 season full of confidence but were outclassed by the Cornhuskers on the road from start to finish. Led by soon-to-be Heisman Trophy winner Eric Crouch, Nebraska jumped out to a 17-0 advantage in the first quarter and never looked back, extending its lead to 27-3 before halftime and maintaining that margin until Irish running back Tony Fisher punched in a consolation touchdown in the fourth quarter.
Things would not get much better for Notre Dame as the season went on. The Irish dropped their next two games at the hands of Michigan State and Texas A&M to start the season 0-3 and would close out the year at 5-6, their second losing season in three years. Head coach Bob Davie was fired after five seasons with the Irish following the disappointing campaign.
2002: Notre Dame 22, No. 21 Maryland 0
After a dismal 2001, expectations in South Bend were relatively low for the 2002 season under new head coach Tyrone Willingham. But while beginning their season against a ranked foe for the third straight year, Willingham and the Irish made a major statement by shutting out the Terrapins. It was the defense and special teams units that led the way for Notre Dame, who won without scoring an offensive touchdown by virtue of five field goals and a punt return taken to the house. Amazingly, they matched that feat in a 24-17 victory over Purdue the following week, returning two fumbles for touchdowns and adding a pick-six and a field goal.
Notre Dame would knock off four ranked opponents on their way to starting the year 8-0 and rising to No. 4 in the nation before a stunning home loss to Boston College derailed its season down the stretch. Despite losing three of their final five games, the campaign — sparked by the Maryland win — was still a massive success for the Irish by any measure.
2005: Notre Dame 42, No. 23 Pitt 21
Unfortunately for Irish fans, the Willingham Era that started off so promising proved to be short-lived, as he was fired in 2004 following a pair of disappointing seasons. Just like Willingham, Charlie Weis began his tenure as Irish head coach with a tough road test against No. 23 Pitt. And just as they had done three years prior, the Irish prevailed in impressive fashion.
Star quarterback Brady Quinn kicked off his All-American junior season with a pair of touchdown passes while running back Darius Walker added 100 yards on the ground and the Irish rolled past the Panthers 42-21 after posting 35 points in the first half alone. Notre Dame would secure a huge upset win on the road against No. 3 Michigan the following week and — after starting the year unranked — reached the Fiesta Bowl and finished No. 9 nationally.
2018: No. 12 Notre Dame 24, No. 14 Michigan 17
Following a stretch of starting four seasons against ranked opponents in six years at the turn of the century, it would be 13 more before the Irish did so again, this time against Michigan. With College Gameday in South Bend for the highly anticipated matchup, the rivals did not disappoint. The Irish jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, highlighted by a 43-yard touchdown pass from Brandon Wimbush to Chris Finke, but the Wolverines didn’t give in. Aided by a kickoff return for a touchdown late in the second quarter, Michigan managed to trim Notre Dame’s advantage to a single possession in the fourth quarter but could never draw even as the Irish claimed what is still their most recent victory over the Wolverines.
With the team receiving a spark by the surprising insertion of quarterback Ian Book into the starting lineup following a 3-0 start, Notre Dame would post a perfect 12-0 regular season and reach its first CFP, falling to Clemson in the semifinals at the Cotton Bowl.
2022: No. 2 Ohio State 21, No. 5 Notre Dame 10
Given all of the turnover the Irish have recently undergone on the roster and among the coaching staff, it feels like this game took place far more than a mere two years ago. That feeling can be underscored by the journey of Tyler Buchner, the starting Irish quarterback in this matchup who has, since then, suffered what initially seemed to be a season-ending shoulder injury before dramatically returning to lead the Irish to a Gator Bowl victory while earning MVP honors, briefly served as starting quarterback for Alabama while reaching the CFP with the Crimson Tide, helped lead Notre Dame men’s lacrosse to a national title last spring and returned to the Irish football team in 2024, only this time as a wide receiver.
Marcus Freeman’s regular season head coaching debut was about as tough as they come, with a primetime matchup at The Horseshoe against the No. 2 Buckeyes. The Irish struck first after a 54-yard completion from Buchner to Lorenzo Styles (now a cornerback at Ohio State) on the game’s opening play set up a field goal in the game’s opening minutes. But C.J. Stroud and company were too much for Notre Dame to overcome and the Buckeyes — who eventually reached the CFP — recovered from a 10-7 halftime deficit to win 21-10 behind a masterful defensive effort. The Irish would fall to 0-2 the following week with a stunning loss to Marshall but would eventually find their footing to win nine of their final 11 games.
