An early look at Notre Dame’s 2022 football schedule

Notre Dame football always draws attention entering a new season but will have even more eyes on it than normal this fall when new head coach Marcus Freeman settles in for his first year in charge.

Notre Dame’s schedule again has a handful of marquee games that will likely draw massive interest nationally.

What does Notre Dame’s 2022 schedule look like and what will the storylines for those games be? Here is a quick look at what Freeman and the Irish have ahead of them in 2022.

Sept. 3 at Ohio State

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Location: Ohio Stadium

All-time series record: Ohio State leads 4-2

Early Storylines: The Freeman storyline is an obvious one but on top of that this will obviously be a massive test for Notre Dame as Ohio State figures to start 2022 as the preseason top-two or three squad.

Sept. 10 vs. Marshall

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Location: Notre Dame Stadium

All-time series record: First meeting

Early storylines: It will be the first home game for Marcus Freeman as Notre Dame’s head coach in the first meeting between teams. For some reason I doubt they’ll be playing for a bronze trophy of Cain Madden.

Sept. 17 vs. Cal

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Location: Notre Dame Stadium

All-time series record: Notre Dame leads 4-0

Early storylines: This will be the first meeting between the two program since the sixties but Cal has struggled recently, going just 6-10 over the last two seasons.

Sept. 24 at North Carolina

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Location: Kenan Memorial Stadium

All-time series history: Notre Dame leads 20-2

Early storylines: This will be the third year in a row Notre Dame and North Carolina meet. Mack Brown has recruited well at North Carolina but has to replace veteran quarterback Sam Howell in 2022.

Oct. 1 Bye Week

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The bye week comes fairly early in the year for Notre Dame in 2022 as they’ll close the regular season playing on eight straight weekends.

Oct. 8 vs. BYU (Shamrock Series)

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Location: Allegiant Stadium (Las Vegas)

All-time series history: Notre Dame leads 6-2

Early storylines: Notre Dame is yet to lose a Shamrock Series game and this one figures to be one of the most interesting venues they’ve traveled to yet as they’ll take on a BYU team that spent much of 2021 inside the top 20 of the national rankings.

Oct. 15 vs. Stanford

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Location: Notre Dame Stadium

All-time series history: Notre Dame leads 22-13

Early storylines: Stanford has fallen from grace in recent years and perhaps Ian Book is to blame for that? The Cardinal will be coming off a 2021 season where they went just 3-9.

Oct. 22 vs. UNLV

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Location: Notre Dame Stadium

All-time series history: First ever meeting

Early storylines: UNLV doesn’t bring much tradition in their first trip to Notre Dame Stadium as they’ve gone over .500 just twice since 2000.

Oct. 29 at Syracuse

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Location: Carrier Dome

All-time series history: Notre Dame leads 7-3

Early storylines: This will be just the second trip Notre Dame has ever made to the Carrier Dome, losing their first appearance 38-12 back in 2003. Since entering the 2018 Shamrock Series 8-2, Syracuse has gone just 13-25 since.

Nov. 5 vs. Clemson

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Location: Notre Dame Stadium

All-time series history: Clemson leads 4-2

Early storylines: Depending how the first two months of 2022 go for Notre Dame this could have major College Football Playoff implications as Clemson figures to again be a contender despite having to replace both their offensive and defensive coordinators this off-season.

Nov. 12 vs. Navy

(AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Location: M&T Bank Stadium (Baltimore)

All-time series history: Notre Dame leads 80-13-1

Early storylines: Notre Dame and Navy will play away from Notre Dame Stadium for the first time since 2018 as the Midshipmen look to return to form after going just 7-15 over the last two seasons.

Nov. 19 vs. Boston College

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Location: Notre Dame Stadium

All-time series history: Notre Dame leads 17-9

Early storylines: Once viewed as the future of the quarterback position for Notre Dame, Phil Jurkovec returns to Notre Dame Stadium for senior day but as the starter at Boston College.

Nov. 26 at USC

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Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

All-time series history: Notre Dame leads 50-37-5

Early storylines: The great Notre Dame-Southern Cal rivalry starts a new act in 2022 as both programs have young new head coaches that are expected to bring both to heights that neither have reached in quite some time.

For all things related to USC football be sure to check out our friends over at Trojans Wire.