Notre Dame's Secondary Will Be Tested In The 2026 Regular Season
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There's been an on-going debate this offseason around Notre Dame's schedule. I'm not going to get into the 'it's harder than it seems' discussion, even though I still believe that holds true. Regardless of what some might think about the overall makeup of Notre Dame's schedule, there are facets of this team that will be tested throughout the season, in particular, the Fighting Irish secondary.
The back end of Notre Dame's is considered to be one of the best units in the entire country. They return Unanimous All-American cornerback Leonard Moore, both of their starting safeties in captain Adon Shuler and FWAA Freshman All-American Tae Johnson, third-year starter Christian Gray and bring along several other key players who will all contribute this season.
When you look their schedule, the Irish secondary will face some unique challenges throughout the season. Off the bat, they'll be tested in run support when facing Wisconsin and Old Dominion transfer Colton Joseph in the season opener. Joseph passed for 2,624 yards, 21 touchdowns, rushed for 1,007 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2025. The Badgers also return leading pass catchers Vinny Anthony II and tight end Lance Mason.
In their first night game of the season, they'll face Michigan State in a rivalry renewed. The Spartans return quarterback Alessio Milivojevic who started the final four games of the regular season in 2025 and racked up 1,267 passing yards, 10 passing touchdowns and three interceptions. Notre Dame receiver transfer KK Smith will be a new addition to that offense; Smith has the ability to take the top off of the defense and has gone against players like Gray and Moore routinely in practice.
After Michigan State, they travel to West Lafayette to take on Purdue and quarterback Ryan Browne who threw for 250 yards, 1 touchdown and caught another in their matchup in South Bend last season. The following week, they face North Carolina on the road who's offense is now led by offensive coordinator Bobby Petrino who had the No. 30 ranked pass offense in the country in 2025 with the Arkansas Razorbacks.
Then, you get into the brunt of Notre Dame's schedule. On October 17, they travel out west to Provo, Utah to take on the BYU Cougars and quarterback Bear Bachmeier who's headed into year two under center. In 2025, Bachmeier passed for 3,033 yards, 15 touchdowns, rushed for 527 yards and 11 touchdowns. The 6-2, 230-pound quarterback is one of the better returners in the Big 12. Although the Cougars will likely be without top receiver Parker Kingston, they return running back LJ Martin, wide receiver JoJo Phillips and picked up tight end Walker Lyons from USC who had a big spring in Provo.
All of that will lead up to their toughest test of the season on November 7 when they host Miami under the lights inside of Notre Dame Stadium. The Hurricanes return one of the best receivers in the country in Malachi Toney and picked up Duke's Cooper Barkate from the portal. Both players are coming off of 1,000 yard seasons in 2025. They'll be led by quarterback Darian Mensah who threw for 3,973 yards, 34 touchdowns and six interceptions for the Blue Devils in 2025. The Irish will have to be prepared for a talented passing attack.
Their final home game of the season will be against SMU and quarterback Kevin Jennings who is walking into his third season as the signal caller. The last two seasons, Jennings has passed for 6,886 yards, 49 touchdowns, rushed for 408 yards and nine touchdowns. His primary targets will be receivers Yamir Knight, Jalen Cooper and East Carolina transfer Yannick Smith.
Then, to wrap up their regular season, they'll face Syracuse on the road who will likely have Steve Angeli under center who was the nation's leader in passing yards a week after his season-ending injury against Clemson.
Regardless of what you think of Notre Dame's schedule as a whole, it's evident that the Irish will face some potent passing offenses in 2026. Defensive coordinator Chris Ash and defensive backs coach Aaron Henry will have to get this group ready to face some tough and impactful matchups.
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