Where does Notre Dame rank in ESPN way-too-early top-25 for 2026?

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The 2025 college football season is now over, and we can all move onto the 2026 season, and for Notre Dame, the expectations will be through the roof once again.

ESPN released its way-too-early top-25 for 2026, and the Irish were their No. 3 team, a bit different than what we saw from On3 who ranked them a bit lower. It wasn’t the same top teams either, as ESPN has Indiana, Texas, Notre Dame, Georgia and Oregon as its top-5.

Mark Schlabach, who complied the list, say that again, it looks like “the Fighting Irish should be right back in the mix in 2026,” but did note that it might come down to three games. I don’t tend to agree with him there, as with more marquee opponents, the room for error expands.

Looking ahead to Notre Dame’s schedule, they’ll take on No. 8 Miami along with No. 11 BYU, and No. 17 SMU. There shouldn’t be any questions regarding the Irish’s schedule, as there are more than enough quality games for the College Football Playoff committee to put them into the field if they win at least two of them.

There aren’t going to be any complaints by me for ranking Notre Dame as the third-best team entering the season, as they clearly look the part.

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This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: Where does Notre Dame rank in ESPN’s CFP way-too-early top-25 for ‘26?

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