🏈 Fan Watch

#3Notre Dame Fighting Irish

3–0 · 0–0 FBS INDEPENDENTS
In the books
WEEK 4 · 2026
Week 4 pregame guide

Notre Dame's backfield found a workhorse and still averages 3.7 a carry

Nolan James Jr. earned a share of RB1 with 26 carries at Michigan State, and the Irish still averaged 3.7 per carry. The long run has not shown up.

Read the rooting guide →
Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman sits with Riley Leonard and Jack Kiser after a game.
Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman with Riley Leonard and Jack Kiser.
CreditPhoto creditBobak Ha'EriWikimedia Commons · CC BY 3.0Cropped to 16:9, resized and converted to WebP by Fan Watch.

Your game

Notre Dame at Purdue
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…
Peacock
Final
Notre Dame
Final · Notre Dame 49–10 PurdueWish granted ✓
Purdue

Other impactful games

the highlighted team was the result Notre Dame wanted
…
…
FOX
Impact 1
Rooted for
Northwestern
at
Indiana
Final · Northwestern 23–29 IndianaWent the other way ✗
Projected 3.6-point first-round-bye boost

Indiana won instead, so Notre Dame did not get the result it wanted.

Entering-week projection69% if Northwestern won66% with the other result3.6-point differenceNotre Dame first-round bye chance
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…
FOX
Impact 2
Rooted for
Illinois
at
Ohio State
Final · Illinois 19–42 Ohio StateWent the other way ✗
Projected 3.4-point first-round-bye boost

Ohio State won instead, so Notre Dame did not get the result it wanted.

Entering-week projection69% if Illinois won66% with the other result3.4-point differenceNotre Dame first-round bye chance
55 other games had little impact
South Carolina at Alabama · ESPN
Oklahoma at Georgia · ESPN
Texas at Tennessee · ABC
Utah at Iowa State · FOX
Liberty at Coastal Carolina · ESPN
Army at Temple · ESPN
Navy at UAB · ESPN
Clemson at California · ESPN
Sam Houston at Texas Tech · TNT
Colorado at Baylor · ESPN2
Virginia Tech at Boston College · ACC Network
Wake Forest at Louisville · ESPN
San Diego State at Toledo · CBSSN
Colorado State at UTSA · ESPNU
UNLV at Akron · ESPN+
Ball State at Kent State · ESPN+
South Alabama at Kentucky · SEC Network
UCLA at Maryland · BTN
Northern Illinois at Georgia State · ESPN+
Hawai'i at Wyoming · The CW Network
Ole Miss at Florida · ABC
TCU at UCF · FS1
Iowa at Michigan · CBS
Boise State at Western Michigan · ESPN2
UConn at Miami (OH) · ESPN+
New Mexico at New Mexico State · CBSSN
Houston at Georgia Southern · ESPNU
Vanderbilt at Auburn · SEC Network
Nebraska at Michigan State · BTN
Wisconsin at Penn State · ERADM
South Florida at Bowling Green · ESPN+
Delaware at Virginia · ACC Network
James Madison at Old Dominion · ESPN+
Central Michigan at Miami · The CW Network
Louisiana at Charlotte · ESPN+
Kansas State at Cincinnati · ESPN2
Oklahoma State at West Virginia · FS1
Southern Miss at Tulane · ESPN+
Kennesaw State at Arkansas State · ESPN+
Middle Tennessee at Jacksonville State · ESPN+
Texas A&M at LSU · ABC
Arizona at Washington State · CBS
Oregon at USC · NBC
Troy at Utah State · CBSSN
App State at NC State · ESPNU
Missouri at Mississippi State · SEC Network
Tulsa at Arkansas · SECN+
Florida Atlantic at UL Monroe · ESPN+
Missouri State at SMU · ACC Network
Oregon State at UTEP · MW+
Massachusetts at Sacramento State · ESPN+
Rice at Fresno State · The CW Network
Georgia Tech at Stanford · ESPN
Air Force at Nevada · FS1
Minnesota at Washington · FOX
The rooting list was:Notre Dame, then Northwestern, Illinois.

Based on 50,000 season simulations entering week 4, anchored to the AP Top 25 (week 4). How the model works.