After making a run all the way to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game last season, Notre Dame football didn't get off on the right foot in 2025. In a renewal of an old rivalry that is among the best in college football, the Fighting Irish lost a very close 27-24 battle against Miami on the road.
Miami controlled most of the game, but Notre Dame played a great second half to even the score at 24. However, Carson Beck led a great drive to get into field goal range and give Miami the win.
Notre Dame came into that game ranked No. 6 in the country and dropped down to No. 9 with the loss. On the other hand, Miami was down at No. 10 and has moved up to No. 5 after the win. The Irish had Week 2 off, but still bumped up to No. 8 in the Week 3 AP poll.
Of course, there is an argument that Notre Dame should be even lower after this loss. The Irish are 0-1 on the season and there are plenty of teams that started the year off with impressive wins in the first two weeks, even if they were against slightly lesser opponents than the one that Notre Dame played against in Week 1.
In reality, there is no problem with the Irish being ranked where they are after the loss to start the season. The AP poll is reactionary, and they still have 11 games left to work their way back up in the rankings.
Here's why Notre Dame will finish higher than No. 8 in the polls this season.
Notre Dame has a manageable schedule and a talented roster
Despite losing to Miami, Notre Dame was still impressive in the second half considering that it was freshman quarterback CJ Carr's first start. The Irish struggled with the raucous road environment at Hard Rock Stadium at the start of the game and couldn't get anything going offensively in the first half. However, they rebounded and put together a nice rally before Carson Beck led the Hurricanes down the field to win the game.
Fortunately for Marcus Freeman and company, the schedule gets easier from there and Miami very well could be the toughest team on the whole slate. On Saturday, Notre Dame will take on No. 16 Texas A&M in South Bend, and that is the last team on the schedule that is currently ranked in the top 25.
Now, don't get it twisted, there could still be some tricky contests on the schedule for this Notre Dame squad. A road test against Arkansas should be a tough ask, as should a home date with USC in the middle of the season. If the Irish can make it through those two, however, they should be in the clear.
Despite some of the flaws that were on display in Week 1, Notre Dame fans should still feel optimistic that their team will be able to roll through the rest of these games. There are some new starters on the offensive line that had to play against one of the best defensive fronts in college football, and it will only get easier from here. The same goes for Carr, who should only keep getting better after winning the starting job at the end of fall camp.
On top of that, the Notre Dame running game should get better and better. Jeremiyah Love was noticeably and strangely absent from the game plan against Miami, getting just 10 carries for 33 yards and catching four balls for 26 yards. Jadrian Price is another very talented ball carrier, but he only got six touches. More of those two should help this offense run more smoothly against less talented defenses.
If Notre Dame runs the table the rest of the season, it will continue to slowly creep up the rankings as the weeks go on and some of the other teams around the country get the kind of tests that the Irish failed in Week 1. By the end of the year, this ranking may look too low for what Notre Dame is heading into the postseason.
