The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are days away from kicking off the 2026 season when head coach Marcus Freeman and his team travel to Lambeau Field to take on Luke Fickell and the Wisconsin Badgers.

Very soon, the offseason headlines, simulations, and projections give way to real data about just how good this Notre Dame roster can be.

With only a few days remaining before the opener, I decided to run one last simulation to remove my own bias from the equation. Everyone knows I am predicting Notre Dame to win all 12 regular season games and make a run toward the national championship. I understand, however, that I have some bias toward the Notre Dame program.

For that unbiased perspective, I asked ChatGPT to run a full Notre Dame 2026 season simulation, including all scores from each of the 12 games, key statistical leaders on offense and defense, what a potential playoff run would look like, and storylines created throughout the year.

Here is what that AI simulation produced.

The regular season: 11-1

ChatGPT had Notre Dame going 11-1 during the regular season, with the lone loss coming on the road against the BYU Cougars. That 11-1 record would be good enough to secure a No. 3 seed in the College Football Playoff bracket, giving the Irish roughly a 20% chance to win the national title going into the field.

Game 1: Notre Dame 31, Wisconsin 20 (at Lambeau Field) — The simulation had this game closer than the talent gap suggests. Wisconsin’s physicality and the unusual Sunday night Lambeau Field environment make it a legitimate opening test, but quarterback CJ Carr settles down after a shaky first quarter and Notre Dame’s defensive front takes over. Carr completes 24 of 35 passes for 285 yards and 2 touchdowns against 1 interception.

Game 2: Notre Dame 45, Rice 10 — This is where the offense starts rolling. Running back Aneyas Williams gets his first huge game as the featured back, rushing for 120 yards and 2 touchdowns, while the receiving rotation begins showing why Notre Dame invested so heavily in it. Carr adds 3 passing touchdowns. Notre Dame goes into the Michigan State game looking like a legitimate top-5 team.

Game 3: Notre Dame 34, Michigan State 17 — The first game where Notre Dame really starts looking like a national championship contender. Michigan State’s physicality creates some problems early, but Notre Dame’s secondary eventually suffocates the Spartans. Cornerback Leonard Moore picks off a pass, while Boubacar Traore produces 2 sacks. The defense holds Michigan State under 300 total yards.

Game 4: Notre Dame 38, Purdue 21 — A classic case of Notre Dame depth winning out. Purdue hangs around into the third quarter before Carr hits wide receiver Quincy Porter on a deep touchdown and the Irish pull away. Porter finishes with 5 receptions for 105 yards and a score. This becomes the breakout game for the former Ohio State transfer, and the first time Notre Dame’s revamped receiver room gets national attention.

Game 5: Notre Dame 35, North Carolina 27 — Bill Belichick’s North Carolina team gives Notre Dame fits with situational football and an aggressive defensive plan. Carr makes two enormous fourth-quarter throws to escape. The final score makes it look more comfortable than it actually was. Carr throws for 310 yards and 3 touchdowns, while wide receiver Jaden Greathouse secures 8 receptions for 112 yards and a score.

Game 6: Notre Dame 42, Stanford 14 — Complete domination. Notre Dame’s defense creates short fields and the offense capitalizes. Moore has a pick-six.

Game 7: BYU 27, Notre Dame 24 — The upset. BYU gets Notre Dame in Provo, where the environment is completely different from anything the Irish have seen all season. The Cougars consistently run the football, force Carr into third-and-long situations, and make just enough plays downfield. Notre Dame gets the ball with roughly two minutes left and a chance to tie or win, but BYU’s defense forces a fourth-down incompletion. This becomes Notre Dame’s lone blemish, and ironically, it ends up helping them. They know they cannot lose another football game.

After a bye week, Freeman and his staff completely reset. The biggest emphasis is getting the run game going, the biggest question surrounding this roster after losing Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price.

Game 9: Notre Dame 34, Navy 17 (at Gillette Stadium) — Navy makes the game a little annoying for a half before Notre Dame’s defensive speed takes over. Drayk Bowen has 11 total tackles while Traore has 2 sacks. The Irish are 7-1 and back in the playoff conversation.

Game 10: Notre Dame 31, Miami 24 — The revenge game. Miami beat Notre Dame to open the 2025 season and eventually reached the national championship game. Miami also enters 2026 with one of the nation’s most expensive rosters and added quarterback Darian Mensah. Notre Dame Stadium is absolutely electric. Carr plays his best game against a legitimate opponent, going 27 of 38 for 328 yards and 3 touchdowns against no interceptions. Late in the fourth quarter, Notre Dame’s defense forces a turnover and seals it. Moore has 2 pass breakups while Brauntae Johnson has 8 tackles and an interception. This becomes the game that puts Carr firmly into the Heisman conversation.

Game 11: Notre Dame 37, Boston College 13 — No drama. Notre Dame’s defensive line dominates. Carr exits midway through the fourth quarter.

Game 12: Notre Dame 35, SMU 23 — Sneakily one of the toughest games remaining. SMU can score, but Notre Dame’s secondary is too talented. Greathouse has his best day of the season with 7 receptions for 118 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Irish enter the final week at 10-1 and ranked No. 4 nationally.

Game 13: Notre Dame 30, Syracuse 20 — A nervous game. Syracuse is playing spoiler and Notre Dame starts slowly, but the defense closes it out. Carr throws a late touchdown to put it away. The Irish finish the regular season 11-1.

Full-season stat leaders

On the year, Carr threw for 3,650 yards, 32 touchdowns against 8 interceptions, and completed 67% of his passes. He also ran for 250 yards and 5 touchdowns, enough to put him in the Heisman Trophy finalist conversation.

Williams ran for 1,075 yards and 13 touchdowns while averaging 4.9 yards per carry. Wide receiver Jordan Faison led the team in receiving with 62 receptions for 885 yards and 7 touchdowns. Greathouse had 58 catches for 820 yards and 8 touchdowns, while Porter finished with 45 receptions for 690 yards and 7 touchdowns. Wide receiver Mylan Graham was also mentioned as a legitimate performer.

On defense, Bowen led the team with 105 total tackles. Traore had 11.5 sacks after posting 6.5 a season ago. Moore grabbed 6 interceptions, and Johnson finished with 72 total tackles, 5 interceptions, and 2 sacks.

The College Football Playoff

With the 11-1 record, the Irish earn the No. 3 seed. Ohio State comes in at No. 1, Oregon at No. 2, Texas at No. 4, followed by Georgia, Indiana, Miami, BYU, Alabama, Michigan, Oklahoma, and LSU rounding out the field.

Quarterfinal: Notre Dame 34, BYU 20 — The revenge game at a neutral site. The Irish don’t make the same mistakes twice. Traore wreaks havoc with 3 sacks and 4 tackles for loss. Carr throws 3 touchdowns. Notre Dame advances.

Semifinal: Notre Dame 30, Georgia 27 — This becomes the defining game of the Freeman era. Georgia’s defensive front creates problems, but Carr makes a couple of elite throws late. Notre Dame kicks a field goal with under a minute remaining. The Irish are going back to the national championship.

National Championship: Oregon 34, Notre Dame 31 — This is where Notre Dame falls just short. Dante Moore and Oregon’s defense are a brutal matchup. Notre Dame has the ball late with a chance to tie, but Carr gets pressured on third down and throws incomplete. Oregon runs out the clock.

Season storylines

The simulation highlighted five key storylines throughout the year.

First, Carr becomes a superstar.

Second, Notre Dame finds just enough to replace Jeremiyah Love with Williams.

Third, Moore becomes a household name after an All-American year in 2025.

Fourth, the defense becomes the identity of the team, led by Traore, Moore, Bowen, Adon Shuler, and Johnson.

Fifth, the season theme was “Leave No Doubt.” After a 10-2 record and a poor ending to the 2025 season, Notre Dame puts together a massive campaign even if they fall just short.

A second national title loss in three seasons would sting. ChatGPT is clearly pretty bullish on Notre Dame in this simulation. Let’s just hope they get one game terribly wrong and Notre Dame finally gets that monkey off their back. Luckily for all of us, the speculation ends very, very soon.