As the season gets closer, look at how the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are preparing to play at home and how much they’ll have to travel when they hit the road. As Tom Zwiller recently pointed out, this will be one of the easiest travel schedules for the team since the NCAA moved to 12 regular-season games.
The 2026 slate is much more forgiving, with fewer “big game” opponents and fewer miles traveled. The football team clocks in at just 8,270 miles. Not having USC on the schedule or traveling to Stanford at the end of the year both help, and the opener away from South Bend is in Lambeau, just 300 miles away.
Miles traveled and time on the road aren’t just talking points. A 2023 study found that significant travel, defined as travel across three or more time zones, can dramatically reduce time in bed, total sleep time, and sleep efficiency when traveling eastward. The impacts are usually limited to the 48 hours after travel, but that can matter during the regular season. That the farthest they’ll travel all year is BYU and LaVell Edwards Stadium, 1,495 miles away, could be a real asset. That’s the only time the Irish will be more than 1,000 miles from home, with the next farthest 892 miles away at Gillette Stadium.
Marcus Freeman’s final year at Notre Dame?
One of the more ridiculous rumors of the summer (which is technically one day old) surfaced on Sunday when some Notre Dame message board users claimed that the Irish's loss in the recruiting battle for 5-star linebacker Kaden Henderson was due to Texas A&M engaging in negative recruiting.
Specifically, one ND fan claims that they have friends who know Marcus Freeman and Texas A&M head coach Mike Elko share an agent, and that, because of this, Elko knows Freeman is leaving South Bend after this season.
While Freeman might eventually leave Notre Dame, there’s no way that’s a done deal on June 22, if for no other reason than no one knows what jobs will be open after the season.
More Notre Dame Fighting Irish news
- Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr will attend the Manning Passing Academy alongside several of the game’s best signal-callers. Other notable attendees include Ohio State’s Julian Sayin, Texas’ Arch Manning, Ole Miss’ Trinidad Chambliss, and Oklahoma State’s Drew Mestemaker. Also on the list is former Irish quarterback Steve Angeli, who is the starter at Syracuse. Three Notre Dame opponents will attend as well: BYU’s Bear Bachmeier, SMU’s Kevin Jennings, and Purdue’s Ryan Browne. The event takes place between June 25 and June 28.
- A new mock draft has both Leonard Moore and Tae Johnson going in the Top 10 of next year’s NFL Draft. Johnson is a name that’s rising, but that’s still the highest any mock has had him going. Moore is slated for the Carolina Panthers, and Johnson would go to the New York Giants if this mock holds true.
- Speaking of the Panthers, former Notre Dame Fighting Irish tight end Tommy Tremble believes that 2026 will be the best year of his professional career, thanks in no small part to quarterback Bryce Young also having his best year in the NFL.
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