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The Notre Dame Fighting Irish enter the 2025-26 season ranked within the Top 10 (No. 6 in AP Poll and No. 5 in Coach's Poll). Expectations are high after the program reached the national championship, which resulted in a 34-23 loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes. With a new season ahead, it sounds like one college football Insider thinks the Fighting Irish are in store for a huge year.
Insider Andy Staples of On3 Sports firmly believes that head coach Marcus Freeman can lead Notre Dame to a top-four seeding in the College Football Playoff. Staples explains how the new rules set for the upcoming season give the Fighting Irish a real chance to earn a top-four seed.
“Remember, the commissioners who run the CFP changed the seeding rules after the original set — written for a world with five more balanced power conferences — wound up making the No. 5 and No. 6 seeds more advantageous than the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds. With the old rules, the price of Notre Dame's independence was that the Fighting Irish couldn't get a top-four seed and a bye because they couldn't win the required conference title.
“Now that the requirement is gone, an undefeated Notre Dame would be a virtual lock for a top-four seed. But the Irish don't have to go 12-0. If Notre Dame can split the Miami and Texas A&M games, 11-1 is a real possibility. And if the Big Ten and SEC beat each other up a little, that should be good enough to get the Irish into the top four.”
Despite being independent and not belonging to one of the several conferences, Notre Dame has several key games on the schedule this season. Going 12-0 or even 11-1 would be an impressive season for the Fighting Irish, as they have marquee matchups against Miami, Texas A&M, Boise State, and USC.
Notre Dame's season opener against the Hurricanes will be a nice test for the Fighting Irish. That game kicks off on Sunday, August 31, at 7:30 p.m. EST.
