Northern Illinois 16, Notre Dame 14 — Week 2. A home loss that could have ended the season as a CFP contender. The roster's response in the weeks after — 12 straight wins — is the chapter's foundation.
2024 — Title Game at Last
Notre Dame won 14 games, reached the national championship game for the first time since 1988, and lost 34-23 to Ohio State — the program's CFP-era arrival.
The Shape — week-by-week · cumulative W–L below
Who carried it
- Riley LeonardQB2,861 passing yards
- Jeremiyah LoveRB1,125 rushing yards
- Jadarian PriceRB746 rushing yards
- Aneyas WilliamsRB219 rushing yards
- Jaden GreathouseWR592 receiving yards
- Beaux CollinsWR490 receiving yards
- Mitchell EvansTE421 receiving yards
- Jack KiserLB90 tackles
- Xavier WattsS83 tackles
- Drayk BowenLB78 tackles
- Rylie MillsDL7.5 sacks
- Howard Cross IIIDL4 sacks
- Donovan HinishDL4 sacks
Season leaders, 2024.
CFP wins over Indiana, Georgia (quarterfinal), Penn State (semifinal). The Sugar Bowl quarterfinal over #2-seed Georgia is the chapter's apex — Riley Leonard / Jeremiyah Love behind an offensive line that won the line of scrimmage.
National Championship: Ohio State 34, Notre Dame 23. Jeremiah Smith / Will Howard. The Irish trailed 31-7 before a fourth-quarter rally; the game was decided before the comeback. First ND title game since Tony Rice's 1988 team.
"We are who we said we were."
2024 is the chapter that answered the question 'can Notre Dame still?' — the one that has trailed the program since 1988. The answer is not 'yes, Notre Dame won title #12.' The answer is 'yes, Notre Dame reached the room where the sport ends, and played a championship game on the last Monday.' The distance between title-game and title still matters; it always has. But the 36-year gap between title-game appearances closed, and the closing is itself the chapter's legacy. The Irish don't wait to be invited to the conversation; in 2024 they walked in.