The first half of Notre Dame’s 2025 football schedule features a nice mix of opponents and some challenging games. The second half of the schedule kicks off with rivals USC in what could be their final visit to South Bend for the foreseeable future. After that, the schedule gets extremely manageable with games that will have pretty bad TV ratings. Or maybe not, college football can get weird in November.

If you’ve missed it, we’ve covered the quarterback situations for the Irish opponents HERE and HERE so far. Now for the Trojans, Eagles, and Midshipmen.

BOLD denotes returning starter

Game #7 USC

Jayden Maiava, Redshirt Junior
Sam Huard, 5th-Year Senior
Husan Longstreet, Freshman

USC decided to roll with Miller Moss last year following a 6-touchdown performance in their bowl game against Louisville to close out 2023 after Caleb Williams sat out in preparation for the NFL Draft. Moss made it to November as the starter but after a 3-interception performance in a loss to Washington he was benched in favor of Jayden Maiava. Moss has since departed for Louisville, the team he torched in that bowl game 2 seasons ago.

Maiava came out swinging in his 4 starts last season (3-1 record with a lone loss to Notre Dame) averaging 283 yards per game through the air with 11 touchdowns. Although he did toss 6 interceptions in those 4 games.

Longstreet could see the field in 2025.

USC brought in the well traveled Sam Huard this off-season as a veteran backup option. He started his career as a 5-star prospect picking in-state Washington where he stayed for 2 years, then transferred to Cal-Poly in 2023, and then Utah in 2024. As a 5th-year senior Huard has only thrown 44 passes at the FBS level.

The Trojans signed 5-star and no. 4 Composite quarterback Husan Longstreet who enrolled early after leaving Texas A&M’s class this past November. He originally played at Inglewood High School and played at Centennial High in Corona, California for the last 2 seasons. He’s not big (6’0″ 202 lbs.) but is extremely athletic with a big arm. I think he’ll quickly move into the backup spot in 2025.

THREAT LEVEL – 7.9/10

Maiava showed a lot of promise to end last season and could develop further into a big playmaker within Lincoln Riley’s system. Even if the program is currently in a rut, Riley’s history with quarterbacks has been impressive and their ceiling should be higher at quarterback as Maiava gets a full off-season of reps as starer. Huard as a backup feels like just a body. Longstreet has outstanding potential and is the type of quarterback (super quick and a surprisingly strong arm for his size) that Riley has mentored to elite status in the past.

Game #8 Boston College

Grayson James, 5th-Year Senior
Dylan Lonergan, Redshirt Sophomore
Shaker Reisig, Freshman

Thomas Castellanos began his career at UCF before transferring to Boston College where he started in 2023 and through most of 2024. Late last year, he injured his leg and was benched in favor of Grayson James. Shortly after, Castellanos entered the transfer portal, has since transferred to Florida State, and might be the Seminoles’ starter in the fall.

James came to Chestnut Hill after 3 seasons at FIU. He ended up making 5 starts last year for the Eagles, so technically a returning starter of sorts, and threw for 5 touchdowns with 1 interception to finish out 2025.

James may have to fight off an Alabama transfer this year. 

During the 2023 cycle, Dylan Lonergan was recruited by then Alabama offensive coordinator Bill O’Brien and signed with the Tide. After 2 seasons in Tuscaloosa, he left at the end of 2024 and has followed O’Brien to Boston College. So far in his career, Lonergan has thrown 8 passes.

Boston College reached all the way to Tulsa, Oklahoma to sign incoming freshman Shaker Reisig who rounds out the depth chart.

THREAT LEVEL – 4.6/10

Castellanos looked to be cooking up something really good for BC last year and then suddenly he’s injured and in the transfer market. Life comes at you fast, I guess. James has a big experience edge but I wonder how Bill O’Brien is going to handle this situation with a former recruit of his coming to town and, potentially, offering a higher ceiling.

Game #9 Navy

Blake Horvath, Senior
Braxton Woodson, Junior
Jackson Gutierrez, Sophomore

During the 2023 season, Navy saw injuries to their quarterback depth chart that allowed Blake Horvath to see the field in 4 games. Now a rising senior, Horvath has made 13 career starts and has become the unquestioned starter in Annapolis. With the Middies opening up their passing game recently, Horvath totaled 2,599 yards of total offense last year which is the second best mark in Navy history.

Horvath ran for 1,246 yards at 7.1 per carry in 2024.

Braxton Woodson has made 1 start in each of the last 2 seasons and has a decent amount of experience as Navy’s backup. He’s ran for 346 yards and thrown 76 passes through 2 seasons with the program. Rising sophomore Jackson Gutierrez saw action last year against East Carolina but that’s it. He’ll be 3rd string heading into fall camp.

THREAT LEVEL – 5.8/10

Although they went from abysmal (2023) to decent (2024) on offense the Navy attack just doesn’t seem that dangerous in the Brian Newberry era. Over the last 2 seasons, the Middies have scored a total of 17 points in a pair of blowout losses against Notre Dame. Horvath is a good runner and is going to be a stats guy on the ground. However, this offense won’t look fearsome again until they get certified weapons at fullback and slotback–a definite missing piece in recent years.