Notre Dame football is preparing to kick off the 2026 college football season against the Wisconsin Badgers at Lambeau Field on Sunday. Head coach Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish enter the campaign with extremely high expectations.

While Notre Dame was not in action during Week 0, a couple of future opponents took the field and provided Freeman and his staff some early context for just how good these teams might be.

Stanford Cardinals pick up Week 0 victory

The Stanford Cardinal, now led by new head coach Tavita Pritchard, kicked off the season with a 37-27 victory over the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors. Pritchard, a former backup quarterback behind Andrew Luck during his time at Stanford in the early 2010s, inherits a program in a strange place that appears to be undergoing a significant overhaul.

Former Michigan transfer quarterback Davis Warren led Stanford’s offense, completing 22 of 34 passes for 310 yards and a touchdown (9.1 yards per attempt) while adding 31 yards on four carries. That stat line looks gaudy on paper, but it is most likely the result of playing a less than stellar Hawaii defense.

The run game was led by junior running back Micah Ford, who carried 25 times for 99 yards and three touchdowns. That four-yard-per-carry average was not overly impressive, but Ford did a tremendous job of working through contact.

Stanford’s offensive line was without its best player in left tackle Niki Prongos and struggled to consistently create movement at the point of attack. Despite that, Ford is a good player who offers some intrigue when Notre Dame plays Stanford down the road. The second-leading rusher was Sedrick Irvin, who was once committed to Notre Dame in the 2023 recruiting class. Irvin had eight carries for 43 yards, a 5.4-yard-per-carry average.

A couple of former Notre Dame recruiting targets made an impact at wide receiver. JonAnthony Hall, from the 2025 recruiting class, had two receptions for 81 yards (40.5 yards per reception), including a long of 57. True freshman Zion Robinson, a 6-foot-4 pass catcher from the 2026 recruiting class whom Notre Dame liked during the past cycle, added two receptions for 57 yards (28.5 yards per reception).

On the defensive side, Stanford got a strong performance from sophomore Gabe Kaminski, a 2025 recruit from Chicago who held an offer from Notre Dame but was not a player the Irish pushed hard for. He finished with four total tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, and a pass breakup.

Linebacker Matt Rose led the defense with nine total tackles and a tackle for loss. Rose had a couple of splash plays against Notre Dame a season ago and is a player worth keeping a close eye on.

North Carolina Tar Heels grind out win over TCU

Notre Dame will also face the North Carolina Tar Heels this season, and head coach Bill Belichick’s squad kicked off his second year with a 15-10 victory over the TCU Horned Frogs. Former Maryland and Wisconsin transfer quarterback Billy Edwards Jr., who was injured for the majority of the 2025 season at Wisconsin, led the offense. Edwards completed 16 of 28 passes for 232 yards (8.3 yards per attempt) in rainy conditions and did not throw an interception.

The Tar Heels’ run game was quiet, averaging just 3.1 yards per carry on 29 carries for 90 total yards and a touchdown. Benjamin Hall was the leading rusher with 11 carries for 36 yards. The breakout star for North Carolina was tight end Jelani Thurman, a former Ohio State transfer who hauled in four receptions for 94 yards (23.5 yards per catch). Wide receiver Jordan Shipp added five catches for 71 yards.

The UNC defensive line was the star of the contest. Sophomore defensive lineman Xavier Lewis finished with seven total tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, and two sacks. Perhaps the best player on either side of the football during this five-point victory was Melkart Abou Jaoude, who had four total tackles, a sack, and a tackle for loss while generating several additional quarterback pressures.

He was all over the field and will be a tough player for Notre Dame’s offensive line to deal with this season.