It’s game week y’all. After almost two months of practice and prep, a version of what the 2026 Notre Dame football team will be unleashed this Saturday in Notre Dame’s annual Blue-Gold Game.
WHEN, WHERE, AND HOW TO WATCH
WHEN: Saturday, April 25 @ 2:00 PM
WHERE: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, Indiana
HOW TO WATCH: Peacock
NOTRE DAME FOOTBALL BLUE-GOLD GAME PRESENTED LIVE THIS SATURDAY, APRIL 25, AT 2 P.M. ET ON PEACOCK
Tony Simeone (Play-By-Play), Former Fighting Irish QB Ian Book (Analyst), and Caroline Pineda (Reporter) to Call
Game from Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Ind.
Notre Dame Head Coach Marcus Freeman and QB CJ Carr Will be Mic’d Up During Saturday’s Matchup
STAMFORD, Conn. – April 21, 2026 – Notre Dame Football’s 2026 Blue-Gold Game from Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Ind., will be presented live this Saturday, April 25, at 2 p.m. ET on Peacock, with an encore presentation the next day at 1:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN. This will be the 95th edition of the annual scrimmage.
The Fighting Irish are coming off a 2025 season that saw them finish 10-2 and record wins over AP-ranked No. 20 USC and No. 22 Pittsburgh. The team was led by All-American running back Jeremiyah Love, who rushed for 1,372 yards and scored 21 total touchdowns in only 12 games. Later this week, Love could potentially become the first Fighting Irish running back selected in the first round of the NFL Draft since Pro Football Hall of Famer and Super Bowl champion Jerome Bettis was selected 10th overall in the 1993 NFL Draft.
Expected to take part in Saturday’s Blue-Gold Game is starting quarterback CJ Carr, coming off a redshirt freshman season that saw him be named a finalist for the Manning Award, given annually to the nation’s best quarterback, as well as the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award. 2025 unanimous All-American cornerback Leonard Moore, 2025 unanimous Freshman All-American safety Brauntae Johnson, returning captain and safety Adon Shuler, wide receiver and 2023 Sun Bowl MVP Jordan Faison, and 2024 Freshman All-American offensive tackle Anthonie Knapp are all expected to participate.
Fifth-year Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman and quarterback CJ Carr will be mic’d up for a portion of Saturday’s game. Freeman was the recipient of the 2024 Paul “Bear” Bryant Award, which recognizes the nation’s best head coach both on and off the field.
This year’s Blue-Gold Game will be the second consecutive season with a different format than in years past. Instead of the traditional two full teams playing against one another, it will simply be the offense against the defense with a revamped scoring system that awards points for plays such as a first down by the offense or a tackle for a loss by the defense.
NBC Sports host Tony Simeone (play-by-play), former Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book (analyst), and Caroline Pineda (reporter) will call the action from South Bend. A five-year player at Notre Dame from 2016-2020, Book holds the school record for most wins as a starting quarterback (30) and is second in passing yards (8,948) and touchdown passes (72).
Notre Dame’s 2025 season was captured in the second season of the exclusive Peacock documentary series, Here Come the Irish. The docuseries provided an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at the iconic program as it moved past losing its first two matchups to win 10 consecutive games, including notable wins over USC, Pittsburgh, and a modern-era school-record 63-point victory over Syracuse. To watch all six episodes, click here.
NBC Sports and the University of Notre Dame began their landmark Notre Dame Football relationship in 1991 and have renewed the partnership numerous times, completing its 35th season together last year. The current agreement runs through the 2029 season.
