Every year I remember to do so, I like to examine the Notre Dame football schedule for signs of those always-dangerous spots on the schedule known as the Trap Games, in honor of the great Admiral Ackbar (RIP), who to this day I wish would’ve been the Ole Miss mascot. I rate those trap games on a scale of 1 to 10 Ackbars.

Even though the 2025 season has already begun, with only one ND game in the books, we still have time to take a look at what games might be trickier than they first appear.

The last time I did this, in 2023 (I would absolutely have given Northern Illinois at least a few Ackbars in 2024), the two candidates were both ACC opponents. The same holds true in 2025. I’m not sure what this says about ND’s schedule as a whole or about the ACC, but there you are.

NC State, 10/11

Where it falls for ND: Between Boise State 10/4 and USC 10/18

Where it falls for NC State: Between Campbell 10/4 and an open date 10/18

This one takes a little bit of a hit trap-wise because Boise State got punked by South Florida in week 1 – although even that might not have been that embarrassing after the Bulls turned around and won in Gainesville Saturday. It’s possible the post-Ashton Jeanty era will not be as kind to the Broncos as we may have first thought, and if Notre Dame is a good team, they probably won’t have much of a problem with the boys in blue.

However, this game still screams trap for a couple of reasons. It’s the second of three straight home games. It’s against a team that a good ND team shouldn’t theoretically have much of a problem dispatching but still a good enough opponent that if the Irish don’t show up, they could be in danger. And USC’s visit looming the next week is also notable. While recent reporting indicates this may not be the Trojans’ last visit to South Bend after all, the mere fact that the rivalry was thrown into jeopardy in the offseason should pump up the atmosphere a bit beyond even the usual hubbub surrounding the ND/USC game.

The Wolfpack also, as you see, don’t exactly have much to worry about besides their visit to ND in early October. They have an FCS team the week prior and an off week afterwards. They’ll be able to throw a lot of bandwidth at the Irish.

Even with Boise State not appearing to be what we hoped when this game was scheduled, this is still a game that carries many of the hallmarks you expect of a trap. I’m giving it 8 out of 10 Ackbars.

@ Pittsburgh, 11/15

Where it falls for ND: Between Navy 11/8 and Syracuse 11/22

Where it falls for Pittsburgh: Between an open date 11/8 and @ Georgia Tech 11/22

Post-Navy is never an ideal spot on the schedule, and with the Midshipmen having the chance to ride a soft early schedule to a perfect record heading to South Bend for a prime-time game, it might be even tougher this year. Pittsburgh hasn’t faced a relevant opponent yet, pounding Duquesne and taking care of Central Michigan so far, so we don’t know what they are yet. However, prior to lopsided Irish wins in 2020 and 2023, ND/Pitt games enjoyed a lengthy recent history of weirdness, so you have to factor that in when taking a look at this matchup.

Not for nothing, but this game against Pitt also precedes a homecoming for Steve Angeli and the Syracuse Orange the following week, which doubles as senior day. The Panthers have their own transfer QB, Eli Holstein, who had a decent 2024 and is off to a good start this year, albeit in glorified scrimmages.

Novembers are rarely the most exciting Notre Dame months as the conferences have grown more and more insular and less and less willing to play against the Irish late in the season as a result, but even by those standards, this November looks to be really dull on paper. That’s something to watch for as ND hopefully avoids falling into a rut down the stretch.

Luckily, this particular potential trap game is on the road. That alone mitigates some of the trappiness of the game. It’s still a matchup I’m leery of, but I’m only giving Pitt 5 out of 10 Ackbars on the trap scale.