Notre Dame football news: Why Rece Davis is all in on Fighting Irish's national championship bandwagon
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Notre Dame football fuels pre-NFL Draft buzz through quarterback CJ Carr. Same with cornerback Leonard Moore. But ESPN analyst Rece Davis focused on another major hype machine going on in South Bend: ND’s national championship feeling.
Count the ESPN College GameDay host as one buying ND.
“I have Notre Dame as my preseason number one team and they’re the team that I believe will win the national title,” Davis boldly said on The Pat McAfee Show Thursday.
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That prediction drew a loud “wow!” response from McAfee and the others who comprise his show. Yet Davis dove deeper on why he calls the Fighting Irish his national title winner pick.
“The schedule is helpful to them early,” Davis began. “I think the Irish are loaded and I really believe in CJ Carr. I think this is the year Notre Dame breaks through for the first time since our late great friend Lou Holtz led them to the title in 1988.”
That’ll also mean Marcus Freeman finally gets over the hump and leads ND to the biggest prize in college football. But there’s lots to like about the 2026 Fighting Irish.
Carr’s return sparks the intrigue for the offense, as he presents an explosive dual-threat element for ND. He gains back Jordan Faison and Jaden Greathouse at wide receiver. But also added Ohio State transfers Mylan Graham and Quincy Porter to expand the aerial attack.
So the offense shouldn’t miss a beat even with running back Jeremiyah Love off to the NFL. But defenses looks like the early strength, with Freeman welcoming back eight 2025 starters there including the lockdown cornerback Moore. ND also welcomes former Deion Sanders Colorado CB DJ McKinney to boost their title hopes.
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