2015 The Top-10 Year

Notre Dame finished 2015 inside the final AP top-10. The top-10 is the tier the program calibrates annual expectation against.

Record 10-3
Final Result 10-win season
AP Final #8 post-bowls
SP+ +6.7 last-week
Era The Kelly Reconstruction
The Shape — week-by-week · cumulative W–L below
W vs Texas 38-3 W @ Virginia 34-27 W vs Geor Tec 30-22 W vs Massac 62-27 L @ Clemson 22-24 W vs Navy 41-24 W vs USC 41-31 W @ Temple 24-20 W @ Pittsb 42-30 W vs Wake For 28-7 W vs Bost Col 19-16 L @ Stanford 36-38 L @ Ohio St 28-44 CFP

Who carried it

Season leaders, 2015.

Defining Moments
The Statement

The 2015 season's largest margin: Notre Dame 38, Texas 3. A 35-point win — the year's high-water mark.

The Setback

The season's deepest loss: Notre Dame 28, Ohio State 44. A 16-point margin the season is remembered by.

The Postseason

The season's last act: Notre Dame fell to Ohio State 28-44 in the postseason.

"The Irish don't wait to be invited to the conversation — they walk in."
— Notre Dame fanbase voice · 2015· synthesized
What It Meant

2015 is a middle chapter for Notre Dame — neither a crown year nor a crisis. It is the kind of season that fills the ledger between the named ones and gives the arc its shape.