Man, Notre Dame fans have had a wild ride lately. If you just look at the surface-level notre dame football season stats, you see a 10-2 record and a team sitting at No. 9 in the AP Poll. That sounds great, right? Most programs would kill for double-digit wins and a top-ten finish. But if you actually watched the games or dug into the box scores, you know it was a season of extreme highs and some head-scratching lows that left everyone in South Bend wondering "what if."
The Irish started the year in a hole. A 0-2 start is basically a death sentence for playoff hopes most years, especially when those losses come against Miami and Texas A&M by a combined four points. Losing 27-24 to the Hurricanes and then 41-40 to the Aggies felt like a gut punch. Honestly, it's a miracle Marcus Freeman kept the wheels from falling off. Most teams would have folded. Instead, Notre Dame rattled off ten straight wins to close out the regular season.
The CJ Carr Era Officially Arrived
Everyone wanted to know if the freshman lived up to the hype. He did. CJ Carr finished the regular season with 2,741 passing yards and 24 touchdowns. Only 6 interceptions. For a young guy in this system, those are elite numbers. He completed 66.6% of his passes, which is kind of wild considering how much the Irish struggled to find consistent receiver play early on.
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While Carr was the face of the offense, Jeremiyah Love was the engine. He put up 1,372 rushing yards. That puts him 4th all-time for a single season at Notre Dame, just behind legends like Vagas Ferguson and Allen Pinkett. Love averaged 6.9 yards per carry. Basically, every time he touched the ball, the Irish were halfway to a first down. Jadarian Price chipped in 674 yards of his own, making this one of the most lethal backfields in the country.
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When you look at the total notre dame football season stats for the offense, they averaged 42 points per game. That ranked them 3rd in the entire country. They weren't just winning; they were boat-racing teams. They hung 56 on Purdue, 56 on Arkansas, and a ridiculous 70 on Syracuse.
A Defense That Refused to Break
The Irish defense was a brick wall for most of the year. They only allowed 17.6 points per game. That’s 11th best in the nation. Chris Ash, in his first year as Defensive Coordinator, really leaned into that 4-2-5 base. It worked. They were especially nasty against the run, holding opponents to just 100 yards per game on the ground.
- Takeaways: 1.9 per game (11th in FBS)
- Interceptions: 21 total (Adon Shuler and the secondary were ball hawks)
- Sacks: They averaged about 2.5 per game, keeping QBs constantly uncomfortable.
The turnover margin was +1.1 per game. That is usually the stat that separates the good teams from the great ones. By not giving the ball away—Carr only had those 6 picks—and forcing nearly two turnovers a game, Notre Dame gave their high-powered offense a short porch to work with almost every Saturday.
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The Special Teams Rollercoaster
If there's one area that actually frustrated fans, it was the kicking game. Until they landed Spencer Porath from Purdue in the portal later on, things were shaky. The Irish only made 55.6% of their field goals during the regular season. That’s 129th in the country. In a sport where games are decided by three points, that’s playing with fire.
They made up for it in the return game, though. Two punt return touchdowns and two kickoff return touchdowns. When you have guys like Jordan Faison and Jayden Harrison back there, you’re always one missed tackle away from a house call. Harrison’s 98-yarder against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl (from the previous postseason cycle) is still fresh in everyone's minds as a blueprint for how this team wins: explosive plays and defensive grit.
Where Notre Dame Stands Now
So, what do we do with these notre dame football season stats? The 10-2 record is impressive, but the lack of a conference championship—being an Independent—always puts a cap on the "automatic" path to the playoffs. They narrowly missed the cut this year, finishing No. 11 in the final CFP rankings.
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The schedule was actually tougher than people gave them credit for. Their Strength of Schedule (SOS) was ranked 25th. They beat ranked teams like USC and Pitt, but those two early losses to Miami and Texas A&M were the anchor that kept them out of the bracket.
Actionable Insights for the Offseason
If you're looking at what needs to change for the Irish to take the next step into the national title conversation, it comes down to three specific areas:
- Red Zone Efficiency: They scored on 76% of red zone trips, which sounds okay but actually ranked 112th. Too many field goal attempts (and misses) instead of touchdowns.
- Kicking Stability: Landing Porath is huge. They cannot afford to leave points on the field in close games against SEC or Big Ten opponents.
- Third Down Defense: While the overall scoring defense was great, they were 35th in third-down conversion percentage. Getting off the field faster would keep the defense fresh for the fourth quarter.
Keep an eye on the transfer portal. The Irish have already been active, grabbing guys like Quincy Porter and Mylan Graham to give CJ Carr more weapons. If the defense stays top-ten and the kicking game stabilizes, that 10-2 record could easily turn into 12-0 next year.
For fans following the notre dame football season stats closely, the 2025 campaign was a "proof of concept" for Marcus Freeman. It showed he can recruit, he can develop a young QB, and he can bounce back from adversity. Now, he just needs to prove he can win the one or two "coin flip" games that define a championship season.