Notre Dame statistical leaders through 12 games

Nov 30, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish players enter the field wearing gold helmets during the game against the Southern California Trojans at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Notre Dame has a long and storied history, but never has it played in a game like the one it’s about to play against Indiana. For the first time, the College Football Playoff has expanded to 12 teams, and that means first-round games for teams that didn’t earn a bye will take place on campus sites.

The catch is byes only are awarded to conference champions, and because the Irish are independent, they never will earn a bye under this new format. But this will count as the extra game they would have had to play anyway had they been in a conference, so it all balances out that way.

Irish fans surely will agree that playing that extra game at Notre Dame Stadium more than makes up for not being able to get a bye. The historic venue will be packed to the brim, and it’s expected to be very loud in anticipation of a victory that will advance the Irish to the Sugar Bowl against Georgia.

Here are the players most likely to be responsible for a victory: