Notre Dame football schedule, kickoff times 2025: Texas A&M, USC, Navy set as home opponents in prime time
Notre Dame is fresh off an impressive run to the College Football Playoff National Championship, taking full advantage of the first year of the 12-team format while marching to Atlanta as the No. 7 seed. As the calendar turns to the offseason, all of the focus now is centered entirely on whether the Fighting Irish will run it back in 2025.
With how coach Marcus Freeman has recruited and developed talent -- Notre Dame has improved its win total in each of its three years under his guidance -- the Irish certainly project as one of the top teams in college football next season. CBS Sports' Brandon Marcello ranked Notre Dame No. 7 in his post-spring top 25.
Now we have more details about the path that Notre Dame will have to take back to the postseason as the Fighting Irish recently released the kickoff times for all of their home games in 2025. Given that Notre Dame is an independent, the regular season is its only chance to build a résumé for the selection committee to consider.
With that in mind, the Irish will have plenty of chances to impress with a stacked home slate featuring plenty of prominent opponents and prime-time clashes.
Notre Dame 2025 home football schedule- vs. Texas A&M (Sept. 13; 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC)
- vs. Purdue (Sept. 20; 3:30 p.m. on NBC)
- vs. Boise State (Oct. 4; 3:30 p.m. on NBC)
- vs. NC State (Oct. 11; 3:30 p.m. on Peacock)
- vs. USC (Oct. 18; 7:30 p.m. on NBC)
- vs. Navy (Nov. 8; 7:30 p.m. on NBC)
- vs. Syracuse (Nov. 22; 3:30 p.m. on NBC)
Some of Notre Dame's most impactful games will come within the friendly confines of Notre Dame Stadium. After opening the year at Miami -- a marquee matchup that carries its own postseason implications -- Notre Dame gets a bye before hosting what should be a top-25 Texas A&M squad. The Irish also have to travel to Arkansas on Sept. 27, but home tilt against historic rival Purdue is sandwiched between those two SEC clashes.
So, in the first month of the season, Notre Dame has to play two likely ranked opponents and three schools from either the SEC or the Big Ten. That's a prime opportunity to stack meaningful wins and immediately bury any questions about strength of schedule -- a hot-button topic anytime the College Football Playoff is discussed.
Notre Dame's showdown against Boise State the first weekend of October is particularly interesting. The Broncos won 12 games in 2024, captured the Mountain West championship and earned a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff. They mostly survived both transfer windows, though they lost All-American running back Ashton Jeanty to the NFL Draft and are shaping up to be a Group of Five front runner once more.
Staying in the Group of Five ranks, Notre Dame also hosts a Navy team that won 10 games, capped by a victory against Oklahoma in the Armed Forces Bowl, in 2024. The Midshipmen return star quarterback Blake Horvath, who finished the 2024 campaign with 30 total touchdowns.
Games against USC and Syracuse also stand out as significant challenges later in the year. The Orange blew all expectations out of the water by posting a 10-3 record in their first year under coach Fran Brown. Given Brown's reputation as a recruiter, the expectation is that Syracuse will continue to improve every year.
Overall, in 2025, Notre Dame has to play four teams that won at least 10 games last season and nine that qualified for the postseason in some capacity, be it the College Football Playoff or a bowl game. All five of its away games come against Power Four opponents.
It's not going to be an easy road back for the Irish. That first month presents a tremendous hurdle, and Notre Dame's record in that four-game stretch will likely define what kind of team the Fighting Irish are in 2025.
But scheduling such a challenging slate does come with some upside. Freeman's squad should have plenty of leeway as it navigates the path -- so much so that, at the bare minimum, a 10-win Notre Dame team seems like a virtual lock to make the 12-team College Football Playoff field.
Odds below via FanDuel Sportsbook.
Notre Dame win total pick, predictionCould Notre Dame win 11 regular-season games in 2025? Absolutely. It wouldn't be surprising at all. But the Fighting Irish could very well stumble a bit early in the year as they break in a new, largely inexperienced starting quarterback. Having to face Miami on the road in the season opener will be a baptism by fire for either CJ Carr or Kenny Minchey, and Texas A&M's salty defense awaits two weeks later. If Notre Dame at least splits those games, then it's in good shape for 11 wins, but it also can't sleep against potentially tough opponents like Boise State, USC and Syracuse later in the year. The smart bet, right now, is to go just under the win total that oddsmakers have set, even if the Irish are capable of exceeding it. Pick: Under 10.5 (-188)
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