How to Watch Notre Dame Football Blue-Gold Spring Game on Saturday: Time, Format Explained
Want to see what Notre Dame football is cooking up for this fall? Here's your chance.
After narrowly missing the College Football Playoff last season, Notre Dame’s football team is spending this spring doing everything possible to make sure that doesn’t happen again. The first major step in that process? The annual Blue-Gold spring game, which will give fans their first sneak peek at the 2026 edition of the Fighting Irish.
The spring scrimmage is a college football tradition for programs and fans, often serving as both a final scrimmage for coaches to get a look at their young roster, and a chance for fans to get an early taste of college football before going into the summer break before fall kickoff.
And the really good news if you’re a Notre Dame fan? You can watch the spring game live, streaming on Peacock.
How to watch the Notre Dame Blue -Gold Spring Football game?
The 95th edition of the Blue-Gold Game, Notre Dame Football’s annual spring scrimmage, will be presented live on Peacock on Saturday, April 25, at 2 p.m. College football fans can stream the game live within the Peacock app on their TVs or mobile devices.
As for what fans can expect to see in the Blue-Gold scrimmage, it could provide some insight into how returning quarterback CJ Carr has grown and developed since last season, where he led the team to a 10-2 record. The Fighting Irish opted not to play in a bowl game last season.
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The spring game should also give fans a look at who will take the brunt of the carries now that running backs Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price are headed to the NFL. The most likely options include junior Aneyas Williams, redshirt freshman Nolan James Jr., and redshirt sophomore Kedren Young. Fans can also look for 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, who are also expected to participate.
Notre Dame Blue-Gold Spring Game Format, explained
This will mark the second consecutive season with a different format than in years past. Instead of the traditional two full teams playing against one another, this year’s spring game 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.
Fans can also get a sneak peek inside the huddle, as fifth-year Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman and quarterback CJ Carr will be mic’d up for a portion of Saturday’s game.
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.
Once spring practices wrap up, fans can next see the Irish kick off their 2026 season with the Shamrock Series game at historic Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin on September 6. Notre Dame will face Wisconsin in that season-opener. Along with Notre Dame home games, NBC and Peacock will also be home to some of the biggest Big Ten college football games all season-long.
