With the 2026 college football season about to begin, NBC has named its new sideline reporter for its Notre Dame coverage.
Caroline Pineda will have the honor of covering the Fighting Irish this fall. The 2022 recipient of the Jim Nantz Award should be well-equipped to handle this role considering she has covered the MLB, Big Ten and WNBA for NBC Sports.
What makes this promotion for Pineda truly special is the fact that she graduated from the Notre Dame.
“Everyone who knows me knows how much I love college football,” Pineda told the South Bend Tribune. “I’m so honored and thrilled to get to do more games for NBC. Watching Notre Dame on NBC made me want to be a reporter, and then while I was a student, Notre Dame on NBC taught me how to be a reporter.”
2026 outlook for Notre Dame.
Notre Dame will begin its 2026 season on Sept. 6 against Wisconsin. Marcus Freeman’s squad will then take on Rice, Michigan State and Purdue to wrap up its September schedule.
There’ll be plenty of eyes on Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr, who is coming off a 2025 season where he threw for 2,741 yards with 24 touchdowns and six interceptions.
As of this moment, Notre Dame has the second-best odds (+600) to win the national title.
