The 2026 Notre Dame season is shaping up to be national title or bust. Eight months removed from being omitted from the 2025 College Football Playoff field, the Fighting Irish are primed and ready to silence the doubters.
Quarterback CJ Carr is back after a wildly impressive freshman campaign. The Fighting Irish are tasked with replacing last season’s top two running backs, Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price, but they have a few highly touted young backs waiting in the wings. The defensive backs room might be the best in the country.
Couple the returning talent with one of the most favorable schedules in the sport, and you have a recipe for a national title-caliber season.
The excuses are gone. The path is clear. Notre Dame should be one of the best teams in college football and will undoubtedly play a role in deciding what program wins the national championship.
Here are five bold predictions for Notre Dame in 2026.
5 Bold Predictions for Notre Dame for the 2026 College Football Season
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Notre Dame Will Make the College Football Playoff
We all know how this story goes. Last season, Notre Dame finished the regular season 10-2 after two ultra-close losses to CFP participants Miami and Texas A&M. The Fighting Irish thought they had done enough to be in the 12-team playoff field, but the CFP committee had other ideas.
Eight months removed from that heartbreak, Notre Dame is poised for a monster season. Carr is back after a strong freshman campaign. The defense is loaded with key playmakers across the board. Head coach Marcus Freeman has proven his teams can rack up wins in the regular season, and that will be the case again in 2026.
Notre Dame plays a light regular season schedule, with its most marquee matchups coming in a road trip at BYU in Provo and at home against Miami in early November. Barring losses in both games, the Fighting Irish should comfortably cement their place in the 2026 College Football Playoff field.
- Related: College Football Playoff Predictions for 2026
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Quarterback CJ Carr Will be a Heisman Trophy Finalist
Even the biggest Notre Dame skeptics must admit that Carr had a fantastic debut season. He threw for over 2,700 yards and 24 touchdowns and really grew into his own down the stretch of the season.
In 2026, the expectations are ratcheted up a notch. Carr will be the focal point of the offense with Love and Price off to the NFL. But behind a strong offensive line and with new-look weapons on the outside, there’s no reason why Carr can’t be even better this season.
Carr is riding a 10-game win streak as the Notre Dame starting quarterback. There’s a good chance that number stretches to 15 or more, given the schedule.
Barring an injury, Carr will be one of the top quarterbacks in college football and will be among the Heisman Trophy finalists.
Edge Rusher Boubacar Traore Will Tally Eight or More Sacks in 2026
Notre Dame edge rusher Boubacar Traore looks like one of the next great defensive players to come out of South Bend.
Standing 6-foot-4 and 250 pounds, Traore has a hulking frame and plays with a mean streak. His game is a mix of speed and power, and he regularly physically overwhelms opposing offensive linemen. He has a nice array of pass rush moves and tallied 6.5 sacks and one forced fumble last season.
In 2026, Traore will take another leap and morph into one of the most disruptive defensive linemen in college football. He’s going to spend a chunk of the season playing against average ACC offensive lines, which will spell trouble for Notre Dame opponents.
Traore will build off last season’s campaign and tally at least eight sacks during the 2026 regular season.
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The Fighting Irish Will Take a Running Back-by-Committee Approach This Season
Notre Dame did something unprecedented this spring: the Fighting Irish had not one, but two running backs taken in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft. Love is off to the Arizona Cardinals, while Price will play for the defending Super Bowl champs in Seattle.
That means the Fighting Irish will have a new pair of top rushers in 2026. A few names to watch are junior Aneyas Williams, sophomore Kedren Young and second-year back Nolan James Jr. Williams is the veteran of the group and will likely start out the season as RB1. But keep an eye out for James Jr.
James Jr. had a fantastic spring ball and turned more than a few heads after guys ahead of him on the depth chart were dinged up.
Last season, Love and Price rushed for over 2,000 yards combined. The Fighting Irish will need some fresh blood to step up this season, and that just might come with a running back-by-committee approach.
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Notre Dame Will Finish the Regular Season 12-0
Two seasons ago, Notre Dame lost in the national title game to a Will Howard-led Ohio State team. Last season, the Fighting Irish were the last team left out of the College Football Playoff field.
This season, Notre Dame is back on a title-worthy warpath and will play like it during the 2026 regular season.
The Fighting Irish have a very favorable schedule and will, in all likelihood, be the favorite in at least 11 of their 12 games. They should cruise to a 6-0 start before a marquee matchup against BYU in Provo. The only other swing game on the slate is the rematch against Miami in South Bend in early November.
Nothing is a sure thing in college football. We all know that. But if any team in the country looks primed for a 12-0 regular season, it’s Notre Dame. Marcus Freeman’s squad brings back a ton of returning talent, has big-game experience and has all the firepower necessary to go undefeated in the regular season.
