Notre Dame Revenge Tour Ranked No. 1 Thing To Watch In 2026 Per Athlon Sports
NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...
Key storylines is what makes college football so unique and down right fun to watch on a weekly basis. This offseason, there's been no shortage of massive storylines that have come out. Conferences are taking shots at other conferences, coaches are taking shots at other coaches. Some players are getting granted extra years of eligibility while others are getting theirs taken away. Amidst all of this, there's talks of expanding the College Football Playoffs and restructuring how NIL contracts are constructed.
Notre Dame has been brewing a storyline of their own and it started back on December 7, 2025 when they were snubbed from the CFP in place for a three-loss Alabama team. Since that day, the motto 'Leave No Doubt' has been a call to action for the Fighting Irish, and they're putting in the work to ensure their spot in the 2026 College Football Playoffs. Athlon Sports writer Steven Lassan considers Notre Dame's 'Revenge Tour' the No. 1 thing to watch this season.
"With 15 starters returning from last year's 10-win squad, along with a favorable schedule, leaving no doubt doesn't just mean a trip to the playoff," Lassan explained. "Instead, the Fighting Irish clearly have their sights set on ending a national title drought in South Bend that's last since 1988. The goal in '26 isn't just to take a spot in the field. Instead, Marcus Freeman's team is set for a national-title-or-bust campaign."
From what we saw in the spring, this is a team that's hungry to go out and show why leaving them out of the playoffs was a terrible mistake. Freeman had this team humming on all cylinders prior to the playoff snub. For the first time since 1966, the Irish racked up at least nine wins in the regular season all by double-digit margins of victory. Their offense set a modern day program record in points per game average (42.0) and yards per play average (7.3).
Redshirt freshman CJ Carr, who returns under center this fall as one of the top signal callers in the country, shattered a program record for passer rating. Defensively, after allowing a combined 98 points in their first three outings, turned things around and only allowed 12.6 points per game in the final nine matchups.
For the first time in his tenure, Freeman has both his offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator returning to the sidelines. Mike Denbrock is headed into year three commanding the offense and Chris Ash is headed into year two at the helm of the defense. Both Denbrock and Ash have deep, talented and experienced two-deeps that are loaded with players at every level that have played a lot of meaningful football.
"Quarterback CJ Carr took some early lumps but eventually tied for second nationally in yards per pass attempt (9.4) and threw 24 touchdowns in a standout freshman season," Lassan stated. "Carr's progression into one of the nation's elite quarterbacks is why head coach Marcus Freeman's program can win it all. There's no shortage of talent at receiver with Jaden Greathouse and Jordan Faison returning, along with former highly touted prospects Quincy Porter and Mylan Graham arriving from Ohio State.
"Like Carr, the defensive took its share of early lumps," Lassan continued. "Under new coordinator Chris Ash, the Fighting Irish surrendered 98 points in the team's first three contests. This unit showed marked improvement the rest of the way by limiting opponents to 12.6 points per contest over the next nine games and allowing just 4.8 yards per snap for the entire '25 campaign. Notre Dame shouldn't need a transition period on this side of the ball this season, with eight starters back, including All-American cornerback Leonard Moore."
There's a lot riding on this season for Freeman and the Irish. Is their regular schedule favorable? Sure, to varying degrees. Many fanbases would argue that playing potentially four ranked opponents from October 17 to the end of the season isn't 'favorable' but once you get into the 12-team playoff field, it's win or go home regardless of what your regular season schedule is.
The Irish bring back the deepest and one of the most talented rosters in the entire country. When you factor in the continuity at the coordinator spots and Freeman heading into year five, there's no excuse as to why this Notre Dame team shouldn't be competing for a title in 2026. Notre Dame's 'revenge tour' will begin on September 6 when they take on Wisconsin at Lambeau Field, but the ground work for this way laid back in December of last year.
——-
Be sure to stay locked into Irish Breakdown all the time!
Join the Irish Breakdown community!
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown YouTube channel
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown podcast on iTunes
Follow me on Twitter: @TTrow5
Like and follow Irish Breakdown on Facebook
More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos