ESPN has shifted where they had the Notre Dame Fighting Irish in way too early 2026 College Football Top 25
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ESPN is high on the Notre Dame Fighting Irish heading into the 2026 college football season. Are they high enough, however?
Heading into the offseason, many people had Notre Dame football rated really high in their way too early top-25 rankings. That included ESPN, which had head coach Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish pegged as the No. 3 team in the country.
Now that we are near the end of spring practice, Mark Schlabach from ESPN has taken the buzz into account and re-ranked the teams. In that updated rating, Notre Dame moved down a slot. Indiana and Texas were ahead of them in the first ranking, but now they are No. 4 behind Ohio State, Oregon, and Georgia.
Here is what Schlabach wrote about the Irish.
4. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
2025 record: 10-2
Previous ranking: 3
Key players lost: RB Jeremiyah Love, RB Jadarian Price, WR Malachi Fields, TE Eli Raridon, OT Aamil Wagner, S Jalen Stroman
Key additions: DT Francis Brewu(Pittsburgh), DL Keon Keeley (Alabama), CB Jayden Sanders (Michigan), CB DJ McKinney (Colorado), WR Quincy Porter(Ohio State), WR Mylan Graham (Ohio State), K Spencer Porath (Purdue), DL Tionne Gray (Oregon)
2026 outlook: After being left out of the CFP, the Fighting Irish should be right back in the mix in 2026. There’s no question the Irish will miss Love and Price, who combined to run for 2,046 yards with 29 touchdowns last season. Aneyas Williams, who averaged 9.3 yards per carry, is the heir apparent. Quarterback CJ Carr should be even better in his second season as a starter, especially if the Irish can get Graham and Porter going, and Jaden Greathouse returns from a hamstring injury. Nine of the defense’s top 10 tacklers are back from 2025. Notre Dame figures to be heavily favored in all but two games — home against Miami and at BYU.
Preseason rankings don’t actually matter
Whether we want to admit it or not, fans care about rankings, even if they don’t matter at all. Preseason rankings should hold very little weight. An initial projection is a fun topic, but until the games start, it’s nothing more than an interesting exercise.
It was, however, curious to see Notre Dame fall behind a team like Georgia. Both Oregon and Ohio State have an argument to be at the top of the list due to the talent that they return, and the other newcomers coming in. Most Irish fans can at least understand those.
Kirby Smart’s group said goodbye to their top offensive lineman, wide receiver, and tight end this offseason. Georgia also has to replace their best defensive lineman, linebacker, and multiple members of their secondary. There aren’t a lot of obvious replacements for any of the defections mentioned, which makes their ascension over Notre Dame a bit puzzling.
In the end, we probably won’t know just where the Irish stack up against the top teams in college football until after the 2026 regular season. They have an easy schedule in front of them. Freeman and Co. are expecting to navigate that schedule well and potentially make another deep playoff run.
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