The Notre Dame Irish open the year ranked No. 3 in the preseason FWAA-NFF Super 16, their highest starting spot in more than a decade. They even picked up nine first-place votes, trailing only Ohio State. The Coaches Poll isn’t quite as high on them, but fifth overall with five first-place votes still says the same thing: this is a team expected to matter.

And then there’s the number that changes the pressure entirely — 12.

Starting this season, Notre Dame is guaranteed a College Football Playoff spot if they finish inside the top 12. That's huge because last year, a No. 11 finish wasn’t enough. The Irish were left out while Miami grabbed the final at-large spot. Under the new system, that won't happen again.

Put those two things together — top-tier national respect and a built-in playoff safety net — and Marcus Freeman is staring down a season with some pretty lofty expectations.

Marcus Freeman Has Turned Notre Dame Into a Legit National Title Threat

The most encouraging thing about where Notre Dame is right now is that it didn’t come from one superstar class, one big transfer splash, or some fluky playoff run that caught lightning in a bottle.

This has been building under Marcus Freeman since his first full season, piece by piece.

And honestly, the early years showed both sides of him. You could see why Notre Dame believed in him — but also why people wondered if the job might’ve come a little too soon. The Irish could go out and beat Clemson one week, then turn around and lose to Marshall or Stanford the next.

That up-and-down feel didn’t really go away in 2024 either. The home loss to Northern Illinois in September felt like another one of those “here we go again” moments Notre Dame just couldn’t seem to shake. Instead, it flipped the season. That loss lit a fire under them, and they ripped off a 13-game win streak that ran through Indiana, Georgia, and Penn State before Ohio State finally stopped them in a 34–23 national title game.

And that final game made the gap pretty clear. Ohio State outgained Notre Dame 445–308, ran for 214 yards, and averaged over five yards a carry. The Irish managed just 53 rushing yards on 26 attempts. To their credit, they didn’t fold — they actually fought back after falling behind 31–7 — but by then, the damage was already done.

They belonged on the field. They just weren’t quite at that final level yet.

Last season was supposed to be the “okay, now prove it wasn’t a one-off” year. Instead, Notre Dame started 0–2.

They lost 27–24 at Miami in CJ Carr’s first start, then dropped a wild 41–40 game at home to Texas A&M. Both were close. Both came down to a handful of plays. And both still counted the same in the end, no matter how dominant they looked once things finally clicked.

Because after that, they did click.

Over the final ten games, Notre Dame won by an average of nearly 30 points. They scored 504 points on the season, averaged 42 a game, and put up 7.3 yards per play. Every win was by double digits. The defense held seven of those last ten opponents to 15 points or fewer.

It was dominant. It just came a little too late in terms of perception.

Miami still jumped them in the final CFP rankings because of the head-to-head win. The committee basically said the teams were close in everything else — schedule, results, common opponents — and used that August game as the deciding factor. That’s how Notre Dame ended up as the first team out, and why they turned down a Pop-Tarts Bowl invite afterward.

That kind of finish could’ve easily turned into a long offseason of complaining about the system. Freeman could’ve gone there, and to be fair, he did question it a bit. But he ultimately landed on something more direct — and more honest.

“It’s our responsibility to make sure we leave no doubt, and moving forward, we can’t blame it on somebody else.”

And now, the rules actually help them avoid that exact situation. If Notre Dame finishes 11th again, they’re in. No more getting bumped for weird tiebreakers or conference math or hoping the committee “feels” a certain way about your resume.

But that safety net isn’t supposed to lower the bar. If anything, it should raise it. And Freeman knows that.

We have expectations to win every single game we play.

The Roster's Ready Enough

Notre Dame leading the country in returning production sounds great on paper, but it hits a little different when you actually look at who’s coming back.

Start with CJ Carr. He’s back after what was quietly one of the best first seasons a Notre Dame quarterback has ever had. He went 195-for-293 for 2,741 yards, 24 touchdowns, and just six picks. The efficiency numbers were even more eye-opening — 9.4 yards per attempt (second in the country) and a 168.1 passer rating that set a program record.

And he did all of that as a redshirt freshman who was still in a real quarterback battle with Kenny Minchey deep into fall camp.

This year, that's not the case. There’s no competition; it’s Carr’s offense. Mike Denbrock is back for his third year calling plays, and for the first time in a while, Notre Dame can actually spend August building the offense instead of figuring out who’s running it.

That hasn’t been the norm in South Bend. Carr is the first returning full-time starter at quarterback since Ian Book. And Marcus Freeman has never gone into a season with this kind of stability at the most important position on the field.

Carr also changes what this offense can be. The 2024 national-title run was built on a lot of quarterback runs, play-action, and leaning on a dominant backfield. It worked — but it also had limits. Carr gives them something different. He can actually push the ball downfield, throw guys open, and punish defenses that load the box.

The catch? A huge chunk of what made last year’s offense so steady is gone.

Jeremiyah Love is off to the NFL after going third overall to Arizona. He put up 1,372 rushing yards, 18 touchdowns, 280 receiving yards, and a school-record 21 total touchdowns. Jadarian Price is gone too — Seattle took him with the final pick of the first round after he added 674 rushing yards, 11 rushing touchdowns, plus kick-return scores and a couple receiving TDs.

Losing one first-round running back would be a big deal for most programs. Notre Dame lost two.

So now it’s Aneyas Williams’ turn. And to be fair, he’s shown flashes. He only had 24 carries last year, but turned them into 224 yards and five touchdowns. That’s 9.3 yards a pop. He even closed the season with 83 yards and two scores against Stanford.

But nobody inside the building is pretending he’s supposed to “replace” Love. That’s not realistic. What they need is a steady lead back — someone who keeps defenses honest so Carr doesn’t have to do everything himself.

And honestly, the offensive line gives him a real shot to do that.

Notre Dame brings back 42 of last year’s 60 offensive line starts. Anthonie Knapp has already started 29 games in two seasons. Ashton Craig is back at center. Around them, you’ve got Guerby Lambert, Joe Otting, Charles Jagusah, and a bunch of guys who have actually played real high-level snaps.

Matty Augustine’s foot injury does take one name out of the right guard mix early, but overall this is still a very experienced group. And it’s a far cry from two years ago, when injuries forced freshmen into major roles during a playoff run. Those same guys are now the veterans.

Receiver is where things get a little more concerning.

Jordan Faison led the team with 49 catches for 640 yards and four touchdowns. He’s solid. The question is whether he’s the guy or just one of them.

Jaden Greathouse is back after showing real upside during the 2024 playoff run. Micah Gilbert returns. And then you’ve got the two big-name transfers from Ohio State — Mylan Graham and Quincy Porter. Graham only had six catches last year and Porter's still mostly potential at this point.

So yeah, the talent is there. But it’s not proven yet.

And that’s really the swing factor for the offense. Last year, when things stalled, Notre Dame could just hand the ball to Love or Price and reset everything. This year, they don’t have that luxury. At least one receiver has to become a real problem for defenses — not just another option in the rotation.

They're Bringing A Dominant Defense

The defense, though, is a different story. That side of the ball is a lot easier to feel good about.

Leonard Moore is back after becoming a unanimous All-American as a sophomore. Five interceptions and seven pass breakups on the season for him. Christian Gray has two years of starting experience. DJ McKinney comes in from Colorado and gives them another proven corner, which could even let them move Gray inside if they want to get creative.

At safety, Adon Shuler and Brauntae Johnson are one of the better duos in the country. Drayk Bowen is back after leading the team in tackles. Boubacar Traore had 6.5 sacks, Bryce Young is on the other edge, and the portal added real depth in the middle.

You also get Francis Brewu from Pitt, Tionne Gray from Oregon, and Keon Keeley — former five-star talent from Alabama — adding more bodies up front. Altogether, Notre Dame will be bringing back 14 of 21 defenders who played at least 200 snaps and added four transfers who did the same elsewhere.

And for the first time in Freeman’s tenure, there’s real continuity on both sides. Denbrock is back. Chris Ash is back for year two as defensive coordinator. Marty Biagi is back on special teams. No new systems, no full resets — just building on what’s already in place.

There's Nowhere Left To Hide

Notre Dame’s schedule is tough enough to keep them honest, but not really tough enough to explain away a bad season.

They open with Wisconsin at Lambeau Field, which is a great setting and all, but not exactly a game where a top-three team should be on upset alert. Michigan State comes to South Bend a couple weeks later. Then it’s road trips to Purdue and North Carolina, with Stanford coming to town in between.

The real stretch starts in October. Notre Dame goes to BYU, a team ranked in the preseason top 15, then gets a bye before facing Navy in Foxborough.

And then there’s Miami on Nov. 7.

That game's going to have some weight to it whether anyone wants to admit it or not. Miami beat Notre Dame in CJ Carr’s first start, took the playoff spot the Irish felt they should’ve had, and then went on a run to the national title game. Carr's tried to keep it simple, saying, “It’s the year of Notre Dame. We’re worried about ourselves.”

That’s the right thing to say in July. It’s a lot harder to keep that same tone when Miami week is actually here.

After that, Notre Dame finishes with Boston College, SMU, and a trip to Syracuse. BYU, Miami, and SMU are all ranked in the preseason Coaches Poll, and both Miami and SMU have to come to South Bend.

There’s no Ohio State, no Oregon, no Georgia, no defending champ Indiana. And unlike most contenders, there’s no conference title game waiting to give them one more chance to prove it.

The new top-12 playoff rule does help. It means Notre Dame won’t get left out the same way again if they’re clearly in the mix. But it doesn’t change the bigger picture. If they’re really as good as people think, they should be aiming higher than just sneaking in.

Finishing top four and getting a first-round bye should be the expectation with this roster and this schedule. Just making the playoff shouldn’t feel like the finish line anymore.

Missing it entirely would be a disaster. Barely getting in and losing right away would be disappointing. Winning a first-round game and hanging around in the quarterfinals would be solid — but “solid” isn’t really what all this preseason belief is pointing toward.

The standard now is a real run at a national title.

And yeah, that might sound like a lot for a program that spent decades trying just to get back into the big conversation. But Marcus Freeman's the one who changed the tone. He got Notre Dame to a championship game, recruited a roster that can get there again, and made “leave no doubt” the message after last season ended.

He’s also been pretty clear about what still sticks with him.

I want a national championship. We’ve gotten there. To get so close and not get it? It’s tough, man.

This is the year built for that next step.

Looking for stories that inform and engage? From breaking headlines to fresh perspectives, WaveNewsToday has more to explore.