On Saturday, the Notre Dame football team picked up its fourth straight win with a dominant 36-7 victory over North Carolina State, pushing their record to 4-2 on the 2025 football season. As many predicted, the Fighting Irish have begun to run the table after their 0-2 start, but with no strong opponents on the schedule, it remains to be seen whether or not that will be enough to get them back into the playoff discussion.
The best player on this Notre Dame football team is running back Jeremiyah Love, who rushed for 86 yards and two touchdowns in the win over North Carolina State.
Recently, ESPN NFL Draft analyst Mel Kiper put together his first “Big Board” of the season, and had some high praise for Love's abilities.
“Love reminds me a lot of Reggie Bush. The 20-year-old has vision and burst between the tackles and to the outside, and he can break tackles with ease (29 forced missed tackles on the season),” noted Kiper, who had Love at number two on his list. “Once he gets into space, he can take it to the house with his breakaway speed too. But Love isn't only an outstanding runner. He also is a high-impact pass catcher. An NFL team will be able to flank him out wide and create a whole other dimension of the offense.”
Indeed, Love figures to be a highly sought-after prospect by NFL teams next season.
Can Notre Dame still make the playoff?
Many fans felt that Notre Dame football's Week 2 home loss against Texas A&M was a death sentence for their 2025 playoff chances, as the team won't get another chance to prove itself against an above-average opponent for the rest of this year.
However, considering the expanded 12-team format, it's not completely off the table that Notre Dame could still backdoor its way in despite losing to the only two competitive opponents it played in 2025.
Next up for Notre Dame is arguably its diciest game remaining this season at home against the USC Trojans on Saturday at 7:30 PM ET.
