The momentum from the run to the National Championship to conclude the 2024 season felt like it could continue for 2025 if Notre Dame football could get over a few early hurdles. Instead, the Irish paid dearly for those early stumbles and were blocked out of last year’s playoffs. Now, the team picks itself up and heads into 2026 as the no. 4 team in the pre-season AP Poll with title aspirations front and center.

Today is a fun season preview, but first if you missed it check out our depth chart preview HERE for a look at some of the positional battles going into September.

Breakout Star

Aneyas Williams

I’m really confident in this pick for a bunch of reasons. Most of the country probably doesn’t know about Aneyas and if they do it was probably during his brief flash in the 2024 playoffs. Plenty of boxes are being checked here for a future star player. One, Williams was good right away as a freshman. Two, he didn’t play more because he was stuck behind a generational duo who were older. Three, he also dealt with an elbow injury. Four, he’s taken on a leadership role on the team and seems as committed to anyone to being excellent.

Also, people forget how productive Aneyas has been in his career. He’s barely been featured and is already approaching 500 yards rushing with 7 touchdowns (all at a healthy 7.6 per carry average) and he’s already over 200 receiving yards. If he can stay healthy, and Notre Dame makes a deep run, I think a 1,000 rushing/500 yard receiving season is happening. I think there will be long stretches of games where Williams is the top target in touches and best player on offense.

Most Underrated Player

Jaden Greathouse

Only positive vibes. Only positive vibes. Only positive vibes. Only positive vibes. They said he was going to transfer and as good as gone. Sure, he was banged up but Greathouse wasn’t happy with his role or something like that. Instead, his hamstring injury genuinely seemed pretty terrible (quick, someone light a candle at the Grotto for his health!) and he’s returned for another season in blue and gold.

Greathouseassaince?

I don’t know, I kind of like these stories. Greathouse had every right to bolt after a really frustrating season. Many have written him off already, largely due to his injury history, and that’s fine. We can’t make much of a prediction if he’s going to struggle with that hamstring. That aside, this could be the year where Greathouse not really returns to form–because he was a very hot and cold player earlier in his career–but develops into a consistent pass catcher who’s going to be difficult to take off the field.

Most Impactful Transfer

Francis Brewu

You could make the case Spencer Porath may end up being the most impactful transfer if he continues to be an excellent field goal kicker. He’s one of just 3 players from the transfer portal who appear locked into starting positions with the Irish, the other being corner DJ McKinney, plus Francis Brewu.

Narduzzi is mad.

I thought the defensive interior was in a bad place (for a title contender) back in December once the season concluded and to me Brewu’s presence after coming over from Pitt really colors things in a more positive manner. He should team up with Boubacar Traore to form an excellent 1-2 for the Irish along the defensive line and be the type of player that can push for All-American status.

Heisman Race

During last year’s team preview I laid out a scenario for Jeremiyah Love in which he could be in consideration for the Heisman, and he pretty much went ahead and ticked off all of those boxes. That resulted in a distant 3rd place in the 2025 Heisman voting, but 3rd all the same.

As of this writing, according to the latest odds from DraftKings the 2026 Heisman favorite is CJ Carr.

This is a big award, but the Heisman is different.

CJ Carr, Notre Dame (+700)
Arch Manning, Texas (+750)
Dante Moore, Oregon (+1000)
Darian Mensah, Miami (+1150)
Julian Sayin, Ohio State (+1200)
Josh Hoover, Indiana (+1300)
Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss (+1300)
Jeremiah Smith, Ohio State (+1400)
Gunner Stockton, Georgia (+1900)
Sam Leavitt, LSU (+2000)

I would expect Carr to fall back in these rankings through September, although he’ll have a chance to rise back up with BYU, Miami, and SMU coming later in the season. The lack of a conference championship game will be an uphill battle for anyone not participating. If the major conferences actually go through with getting rid of their league title games it would hopefully return the Heisman to its rightful place as a regular season award only.

.800 Club

I included this section last year as Marcus Freeman flirted with a .800 winning percentage and guys being that successful just aren’t around a whole lot. The 0-2 start plus the decision to stay home for the postseason put entrance into this club on hold.

But, we’re back for 2026! If Notre Dame can start the season 5-0, Freeman will move right to a winning percentage of .800 exactly coming out of a visit to Chapel Hill. He can’t win enough games in 2026 to catch the Holy Trinity of Rockne (.881), Leahy (.855), and Ara (.836) but merely having these types of conversations fills my heart with excitement and appreciation.

Best Case Scenario Record

15-0

Did I stutter?

Worst Case Scenario Record

10-3

It wasn’t that long ago that a 10-win season would be met with at least a begrudgingly hat tip of success. Those days are long gone! There’s probably no way this record happens without an injury to CJ Carr. With no experience among the backups things could get a little scary at quarterback in this scenario but the defense is going to suffocate so many offenses that 9 wins during the regular season would still be expected.

Biggest Team Worry

Pass Catchers

I don’t think it’s true that you need at least one elite pass catcher to win a National Championship, but damn it if it doesn’t help. At the very least, when things get tense in the playoffs there needs to be a handful of explosive pass plays to get the job done. Georgia in 2021 and Michigan in 2023 (cheatin’ though) show that you don’t need a huge passing game or threatening receivers to win it all. Notre Dame could be a team in a similar vein. However, with CJ Carr not being very mobile we may need to see a lot of development from the receivers (and tight end) if the offensive line and running backs aren’t always performing at extremely high levels every single game.

Trap Game

Boston College

This was a tough decision but this 2026 Notre Dame schedule is about as trap-less as I’ve seen in recent years. You could make the case for the Navy game with a look ahead to Miami of course. But, the meeting with the Middies is preceded by a bye week at least. To be clear, Boston College is expected to be pretty bad. Yet, it’s sandwiched in between Miami and SMU so there’s about a 30% chance the Irish come out really sleepy and the game turns into a bit of a slog.

Wedding Week

Michigan State

There are lots of options this fall! Take for example, the Rice game on September 12th when it should still be warm all over the country. But, that’s at least the home opener and even if it’s not a Power program opponent it’s always special to play inside Notre Dame Stadium for the first time during a season.

Not real excited for this game.

For me, the night game against Michigan State a week later feels so out of place. Some may like this rivalry–and the Irish haven’t faced the Spartans since 2017 which is absurd to think about–but they might be a really bad team and if you’re at a wedding on September 19th you’re likely to be back home for most of this game anyway.

YPP

Yards Per Play is my favorite traditional stat but it’s getting skewed with the advent of the 12-team playoff. Notre Dame finished the 2024 regular season at a super impressive +2.17 YPP, basically one of the best marks in school history. After 4 playoff games, that bounced down to a more humble +1.55 YPP. Such is life when you face a string of top opponents in a row.

Last year, Notre Dame finished with a +2.70 YPP, which is the best we’ve ever seen at Notre Dame in the modern era, eclipsing the 1966 team that, it should be noted, allowed a grand total of 38 points all season.

Can Denbrock cook with this offense?

Geez, can the 2026 team actually push toward +3.0 YPP in this regular season?? It could happen if a downturn in explosiveness without Love & Price is met with greater efficiency in the passing game. The reality is that 7 or 8 games could be won by a combined 250 points where there could be devastating carnage.

Best Opponent Uniform

North Carolina

The Tar Heels wear throwbacks at least somewhat regularly that I like better, primarily because they feature a lot more dark blue (and drop shadow numbers) which helps the Carolina blue to stand out more. UNC is one of the rare teams who have always looked sharp all throughout their history and never really messed things up too bad.

Is this a top 15 uniform in CFB?

This current standard uniform template, released about a decade ago, has been a winner. With argyle pattern on the collar and the side of the pants, I might argue the overall aesthetic would be better with a plain helmet stripes–like they wear with their throwbacks. Other than that, I wouldn’t change a thing.

Worst Opponent Uniform

Navy

When Navy switched to Under Armour back in 2015 they brought an interesting design of thin lines horizontally across the chest and then switched that pattern to the shoulders in 2020. Back in 2024, they changed again and got rid of all character from the prior set. Now, they just have these very bland uniforms.

These can be much better.

In terms of pure ugliness, I might pick Boston College because I don’t like their colors even though they’ve returned to a much nicer throwback template under Bill O’Brien. However, these Navy uniforms are boring and the lack of white trim anywhere makes things so much worse.

The Road Trips Ranked

#1 West Lafayette, Indiana
#2 Syracuse, New York
#3 Foxborough, Massachusetts 
#4 Chapel Hill, North Carolina
#5 Green Bay, Wisconsin
#6 Provo, Utah

Notre Dame just visited Purdue back in 2024, won by 59 points, has played in West Lafayette 45 times, and no one is excited to go back this year. The Orange at least have a renovated stadium that some haven’t seen (and an undefeated regular season potentially hanging in the balance) although in late November it’s likely to be really cold in central New York.

Notre Dame playing inside Gillette Stadium for the first time is mildly interesting and nothing more. It should be a fine and relatively warm visit to Chapel Hill but the controversy surrounding Belichick’s tenure and general struggles of their program make it less appealing.

Will the season actually begin here?

The visit to Green Bay should be fun and unique–probably one of the more anticipated and well thought out Shamrock Series games that we’ve had. No doubt, it will be a lot of fun although the Irish head into the season as three-touchdown favorites and the game isn’t expected to be a thriller. The trip to BYU could be different. Both teams are favored to be undefeated when the Irish travel to Provo in what could/should be a top 10 matchup. This will only be Notre Dame’s 3rd visit to BYU and the first in over 20 years, as well. You’ve got Provo, Salt Lake City, and National Parks all within a short drive of each other.

Cold Water Player Prediction

Will Black & Guerby Lambert Struggles

I’ve been thinking a lot about the offensive line this off-season and I’m still trying to wrap my head around the decision making process. I think I love it because it’s been so bold that you’d think the plan just has to work. I feel pretty good about what Notre Dame is going to do on the interior. Anthonie Knapp has been a very good tackle and should have a higher ceiling at guard. There are two centers who have both played well in their careers and one of them could be playing guard.

Lots of pressure!

I’d be really surprised if both Will Black and Guerby Lambert go the whole season playing at a pretty high level, nice and consistent, without some periods of struggle. If they are good-to-pretty-good especially in the biggest games of the seasons it could mean massive things for the offense. I just think the lack of experience for both of those guys on the edge is going to be something the offense battles from time to time throughout 2026.

Hot Take Player Prediction

Christian Gray 3rd Round Pick

I am coming in scorching hot for this take. Or is it not that hot? Most modern drafts see 18 to 20 defensive backs taken within the first 3 rounds. That’s almost 1 in every 5 pick going to the defensive backfield and we know corners, especially nickel corners, are more valuable than ever in the NFL.

Gray is back to wearing #29 after using #6 last year.

Note, due to the recent “5 for 5” rule change, Gray can even come back for 2027, too! We’ve been frustrated with him at times, but he’s had a very successful career at Notre Dame and after this season he’ll have 40+ starts on his resume. I’m not sure if he’ll have a lights out testing regime leading up to the Combine, but if his 2026 is a success he’ll big a lanky corner with good size who has excelled at both corner and nickel. That could be extremely valuable to many NFL clubs.