Stock Up, Stock Down: 2026 Outlook For Notre Dame's Opponents
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We're 45 days away from Notre Dame kicking off their 2026 campaign against the Wisconsin Badgers at Lambeau Field under the lights. The season is rapidly approaching and there's 12 guaranteed opportunities for this team to put together a resume worthy of making this year's College Football Playoffs. Notre Dame's regular season schedule has generated some negative attention this offseason around the level of difficulty. But a lot of those narratives are based on last season.
Certain programs are on the rise while others are struggling to get back to relevancy. I broke down all 12 teams on Notre Dame's regular season schedule and discussed which teams are on the rise and which teams are not trending in the right direction. Last season is over, some programs have new coaches while others are looking to get back to the CFP. I've broken this down into two different categories and some of the teams might surprise you.
TRENDING UP
Wisconsin Badgers – Their ending to the 2025 season started to generate some hope in Madison. Wisconsin ended the regular season with upset wins over Illinois and Washington in November which helped fuel their strong portal cycle this offseason. Head coach Luke Fickell is entering a pivotal season in his tenure with the Badgers, but the additions of quarterback Colton Joseph, running backs Abu Sama III and Bryan Jackson along with a handful of returners have the Badgers trending in the right direction.
Michigan State Spartans – The Pat Fitzgerald era is kicking off in East Lansing this season and he has his work cut out for him. The Spartans haven't had a winning season since 2021, but the former Northwestern head coach knows what it takes to be successful in the Big Ten and has hired a staff to help get Michigan State back to conference relevancy. They have continuity at primary positions on both sides of the ball with players like Alessio Milivojevic and Jordan Hall returning. This could be the dawn of a new era for the Spartans.
North Carolina Tarheels – Head coach Bill Belichick is heading into his second year at Chapel Hill. Now that he has a year of experience under his belt at the collegiate level, many believe we might see a different looking Tarheel program this fall. Their defense returns key players in the trenches headlined by Melkart Abou-Jaoude and their offensive is under new management with Bobby Petrino coming over from Arkansas. Will they be competing for the ACC title this fall? Most likely not, but a potential turnaround is likely in their future.
Stanford Cardinal – Things are starting to turn around for the Cardinal. Last season, with an interim head coach, they managed a 4-2 record at home with their only losses coming to Pitt and Notre Dame. This year, they enter the season with a new head coach, Tavita Pritchard, who was a former quarterback for Stanford back in the early 2000s. General manager Andrew Luck is putting in the work to get his alma mater back to relevancy in the college football world. They have key returning pieces on both sides of the ball and look to maintain their standing on their home turf this fall.
BYU Cougars – Head coach Kalani Sitake is 23-4 the last two seasons, only one win behind Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman. The Cougars return the nucleus of their roster from last season featuring sophomore quarterback Bear Bachmeier, running back LJ Martin, a trio of experienced offensive lineman and one of the best cornerback duos in the Big 12 with Evan Johnson and Therrian Alexander returning to Provo. Their schedule sets up relatively favorably to get them back to the conference championship game and fight for a spot in the 2026 College Football Playoffs.
Miami Hurricanes – Fresh off of a 13-win season, head coach Mario Cristobal brings back both coordinators, a host of talent on both sides of the ball and looked to the portal to supplement some key losses on offense and defense. Duke transfers Darien Mensah at quarterback and Cooper Barkate at receiver look to add to the overall ceiling of an offense that returns one of the better backfields in the country and one of the best receivers in college football Malachi Toney. There's questions about the offensive line, but if they can hold serve, this will be the team to beat coming out of the ACC.
TRENDING DOWN
Purdue Boilermakers – It's crunch time in West Lafayette. Even though he's going into year two, head coach Barry Odom is entering a pivotal season at the helm for the Boilermakers. Here's the facts …. this program is 3-21 the last two seasons and 0-18 in conference play since the start of 2024. There has to be signs of life from this program. Does that mean they have to make the CFP this season? Absolutely not, but you have to pick up at least one win in conference and be knocking on the door of being bowl eligible. Purdue has been riding a downhill slope since Jeff Brohm's departure and it'll be up to Odom to right the ship.
Boston College – After starting his tenure off with a 7-6 season with a bowl win over Nebraska, head coach Bill O'Brien led the Eagles to a 2-10 regular season with a lot of the returning talent from the 2024 roster. The majority of the top-level talent from last fall's roster has departed for the portal or the draft. This is going to be a big season for Boston College and O'Brien and with games against Virginia Tech, SMU, Pitt, Notre Dame and Miami coming down the pipe, the task won't get much easier.
WAIT AND SEE
Syracuse Orange – In year one, head coach Fran Brown went 10-3 but last fall, the Orange went 3-9 with some massive losses. The outlook of their season is relatively up in the air. Quarterback Steve Angeli is back after a season-ending achilles injury last fall, but will that be enough to engineer a turnaround in 2026? Which version of the Orange will we see this fall? I'm in 'wait and see mode' with Brown and Syracuse.
SMU Mustangs – This team has the potential to jump right into the 'trending up' category, but I'm also in 'wait and see mode' with Rhett Lashlee and the Mustangs. Two seasons ago, they played for the conference title and made the CFP. Last season, they finished 9-4 and weren't close to playoff contention. Quarterback Kevin Jennings returns and looks to return SMU to the 2024 version of themselves. If he plays well and if their portal heavy defensive line lives up to expectations, then SMU could be due for a bounce-back season.
Navy Midshipmen – It's time for the post Blake Horvath era for the Midshipmen but quarterback Braxton Woodson steps in after playing in a lot of meaningful games last fall including a 100-yard rushing performance against Notre Dame on the road. He'll be running behind a veteran offensive line that returns four key pieces
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