Notre Dame football is in its bye week with a 6-1 record under head coach Marcus Freeman, sitting at No. 4 in the latest AP poll.

The Fighting Irish fell 28-24 on the road to BYU, now No. 2 in the country, after entering that weekend at No. 2 themselves. A win would have put Notre Dame at No. 1. The loss didn’t cause much of a dip in the rankings.

With a break in the action and five games remaining in the 2026 college football season, this is the perfect time to dig through the numbers. That includes offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock’s unit, defensive coordinator Chris Ash’s group, what makes this team potentially special, and the areas that still need to be worked out.

Notre Dame’s numbers through 7 games

Through seven games, Notre Dame has scored 288 points (41.1 per game, sixth nationally) and allowed just 94 points (13.4 per game, fifth nationally). The Irish beat Wisconsin 41-13, Rice 52-0, Michigan State 27-10, Purdue 49-10, North Carolina 37-26, and Stanford 58-7 before falling to the Cougars.

The six wins came by a combined 198 points. Factoring in the loss, the Irish have outscored opponents by 194 points, an average margin of 27.7 points per game.

Notre Dame averages 183.4 rushing yards per game (44th nationally), 261.7 passing yards per game (38th), and 6.5 yards per play (28th). The offensive success rate sits at 50.9%, eighth in the country. Defensively, the success rate allowed is 35.7%, which ranks 25th.

The number that jumps off the page is the turnover margin. Notre Dame is plus-14, second in the country, and also ranks second in ESPN’s Football Power Index. That margin is a big reason the Irish have six wins through seven contests.

CJ Carr and the Notre Dame offense

Quarterback CJ Carr has completed 129 of 193 passes (66.8%) for 1,639 yards, 16 touchdowns, and one interception. He carries a 164.3 passer rating and averages 8.5 yards per attempt, which is a tremendous number. Carr has also run for 82 yards and three touchdowns.

His worst day came at BYU, where he completed 27 of 49 passes (55.1%) for 261 yards and no touchdowns. Another interesting note: the passing offense has thrown 11 touchdowns and zero interceptions in the first half of games.

The rushing attack is a three-headed group. True freshman Jonaz Walton leads the team with 426 yards and three touchdowns on just 57 carries, an exceptional 7.5 yards per carry. Despite having 24 fewer carries than Nolan James Jr., Walton is the leading rusher.

James has the most volume with 81 carries for 412 yards and six touchdowns, while Aneyas Williams has 70 carries for 302 yards and four scores. As a trio, they have produced 1,140 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Jordan Faison leads the receivers with 34 catches for 451 yards and four touchdowns. Micah Gilbert has been the big-play hunter, catching 22 of his 33 targets for 409 yards and two scores. His 18.6 yards per catch is 5.3 yards better than Faison’s average.

The Notre Dame defense and special teams

Five of seven opponents have been held to 13 or fewer points, with North Carolina and BYU as the exceptions. The rush defense has been one of the biggest stories, allowing just 2.4 yards per carry and 58.3 yards per game. Even BYU, the outlier with 121 rushing yards, needed 30 carries to get there.

Drayk Bowen leads the team with 29 total tackles. Luke Talich has been a turnover creator on the back end with two interceptions, a sack, and three tackles for loss.

Boubacar Traore (3.5 sacks and an interception) and Bryce Young (three sacks) lead the pass rush. Along with Francis Brewu, Loghan Thomas, and Armel Mukam, that group has combined for 11.5 sacks. The Irish hold a plus-13 net sack differential and have eight interceptions as a team.

Kicker Spencer Porath has made 10 field goals and 31 extra points, good for 61 points (8.7 per game). Faison has helped the Irish average 11.8 yards per punt return, and the team has committed only 22 penalties.

Areas that still need to be worked out

The pass rush has cooled off. After 13 sacks in the first four games, Notre Dame has managed just two over the last three.

The road splits on third down stand out. At home, opponents have converted only 8 of 34 third downs (23.5%). On the road, that number jumps to 26 of 53 (49.1%), a gap of more than 25 percentage points.

Slow starts on the ground are another trend. The Irish have run for just 239 yards on 56 first-quarter attempts (4.3 yards per carry), compared to 338 yards and eight touchdowns on 54 second-quarter carries (6.26 yards per carry).

The red zone carries a hidden wrinkle as well. Notre Dame has scored on 29 of 33 trips (87.9%), but only 22 of those were touchdowns (66.7%). On fourth down, the Irish have converted 12 of 16 attempts, while opponents are 5 of 8. Notre Dame converts 44% of its third downs, compared to 39.1% for opponents.

The efficiency gap is real on both sides of the ball. Notre Dame owns a plus-0.190 offensive EPA per play and a minus-0.222 defensive EPA, producing a plus-0.412 net EPA per play. If the Irish clean up the slow starts and road defense, the final five games could look a lot like the first six wins.