Notre Dame Is Good In All Of The Right Spots
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Notre Dame is one of the top contenders for a national championship heading into the 2026 season. Head coach Marcus Freeman is headed into year five at the helm and returns all three coordinators, two defensive captains and quarterback CJ Carr, the first returning starting quarterback for the Irish since 2020.
Notre Dame has the most returning production of any roster in the country according to ESPN, have multiple positions groups ranked in the top five according to multiple outlets and are consistently one of the favorites to win the title in 2026 by outlets like ESPN and FanDuel.
One of the main reasons the confidence in the Irish is sky high to end their near 40-year championship drought is due to what they return on both sides of the ball. Their outlook at quarterback, offensive line, defensive line and in the secondary is the highest its been in quite some time in South Bend. Previous title winners over the years have been really good to elite in all of those areas.
Look at Indiana this past season. Their quarterback won the Heisman trophy, their offensive line were Joe Moore Award semi-finalists, their defensive line was home to a player in Mikail Kamara who led the country in total pressures according to PFF and their secondary ranked 6th in the country in total interceptions.
Two years ago, Ohio State quarterback Will Howard played at a championship caliber level throughout the post season. Their offensive line only allowed 4.0 total sacks in four playoff games, their defensive line was one of the best in the country and their secondary ended the year with the No. 3 overall pass defense in the country.
The list of teams who went on to win championships that were strong in these four key areas goes on and on when you think of teams who had Joe Burrow, Mac Jones, Trevor Lawrence, Deshaun Watson, the offensive lines they had, the defensive lines they had and the stout secondaries that were on some of those teams. Notre Dame is in a position to have all four of those boxes checked this year and it starts with their returning signal caller under center.
Carr had a strong start to his Notre Dame career. he passes for 2,741 yards, 24 touchdowns, rushed for three additional scores and broke the program record in passer efficiency rating as a redshirt freshman. The Michigan native was the starter who engineered a season where the Irish broke the program record in points per game (42.0) and yards per play (7.3). Carr returns with his sights set on bigger goals in 2026 and will be playing behind an extremely talented offensive line.
The ceiling of Joe Rudolph's unit is exceptionally high this season. They have the potential to bring home the first Joe Moore Award since 2017 with players like Anthonie Knapp, Guerby Lambert and Ashton Craig returning with talented redshirt freshman Will Black stepping into the starting lineup. Their overall success, however, will not be deemed by bringing home this award. Indiana, Ohio State, Michigan and Georgia were not Joe Moore Award winners in the years they won the title. But their offensive line play was at a Joe Moore Award-level which helped lead their teams to a title.
On the defensive side of the ball, this is the deepest and most complete defensive line the Irish have had in years. Defensive line coach Charlie Partridge is expected to get this unit over the hump and be a truly elite unit and they have the talented to do so. With players back like Boubacar Traore, Bryce Young and Jason Onye back in the mix combined with Keon Keeley, Francis Brewu, Tionne Gray and true freshman Rodney Dunham now in South Bend, the outlook in the trenches on defense is at an all-time high in the Freeman era.
Notre Dame's secondary is the only side of the ball that has been playing at a championship level the last few seasons. After a sluggish start in 2025, the Irish finished the season as a top pass defense in the country. They were the No. 1 pass defense in 2024 and were ranked first in the country in opponent passer rating and completion percentage allowed.
In back to back seasons, the Notre Dame secondary finished top five in the nation in interceptions with 40 picks combined between 2024 and 2025 which is more than any other title contender heading into 2026 between Ohio State, Texas, Oregon, Georgia, Miami and Indiana.
The Fighting Irish are good in all of the right spots, which falls in line with what we've seen from several title winners in the past. Now, it's up to Freeman, his three returning coordinators and the players on the field to elevate, develop and execute on the field to bring home Notre Dame's first national championship since 1988.
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