Kirk Herbstreit predicts college football's national champion

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ESPN "College GameDay" analyst and former Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Kirk Herbstreit has predicted who his final four teams will be in the College Football Playoff. Herbstreit predicts that the Indiana Hoosiers, Georgia Bulldogs, Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Ohio State will be the last four teams standing.

Herbstreit has Georgia losing to Notre Dame in the semifinals. He predicts Indiana will prevail over Ohio State in the semifinals in a rematch of the 2025 Big Ten championship.

"Can you imagine the state of Indiana if that happened?" Herbstreit said on his predicted Indiana-Notre Dame national championship matchup. "And like you (ESPN analyst Joey Galloway), I've got CJ Carr and Notre Dame winning the national title."

Herbstreit and Galloway both predicted Notre Dame to win the national championship on the "Nonstop" podcast. Notre Dame is a very motivated team entering the 2026 college football season. The Fighting Irish missed the playoff last season and are eager to prove the doubters wrong this season. Notre Dame has a manageable schedule and should be able to make the playoff with ease.

Herbstreit is not the only ESPN college football analyst praising the Fighting Irish. Paul Finebaum also thinks Notre Dame should be one of the highest ranked teams in the country.

Herbstreit reversed course from his early prediction in the spring. He predicted the Miami Hurricanes would win it all back in May, but he changed his mind.

Kirk Herbstreit's national championship prediction

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This article originally appeared on UGA Wire: Kirk Herbstreit predicts college football's national champion

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