Notre Dame football: Playoff expands to 12 teams

Notre Dame football must be locked in with the college football playoffs expanding to 12 teams in a couple of years.

Notre Dame football on the recruiting trail

The coaching staff must ensure they’re dominating while recruiting to continue to rack up the top 5 classes as the seasons progress. What they did while Brian Kelly was at the helm seemed like enough to get the job done but wasn’t always enough to push them across the finish line. With coach Freeman and company, the Irish have the 3rd best class in 2023 and the 2nd best class in 2024. Of course, a lot can change between now and signing on the dotted line, but the recruiting efforts are certainly there.

The transfer portal has become a massive tool to turn a program around instantaneously, like USC. The program as a whole is not that great. Still, anything is possible in having a Heisman quarterback and offensive weapons. Notre Dame can’t rely on the perfect graduate transfer anymore. They must be able to recruit undergraduates into the university as well. Landing top talent in the portal is a must; we’ll see how the Irish fair in that area moving forward.

Notre Dame football must win the games they’re supposed to

Although it’s pretty straightforward, it’s a key component of consistently having one of the more demanding schedules in the nation. With expanded playoffs, 3 of the teams they played this year would be close to a shoo-in for one of the 12 spots. Losing to teams like Stanford and Marshall certainly can’t happen, as it affords less room for error elsewhere. With some changes, Notre Dame beats USC, and I wholeheartedly believe that. They also played Ohio State close, and if it wasn’t the first game of the season, that outcome looks different, too.

Whatever Notre Dame does regarding coaches, recruits, players, or gameplan, they have to take care of what’s necessary moving forward. Win the games you’re supposed to win and challenge good teams, if not beat them altogether. Continuing to take care of business as they’ve done for many years will be vital to being a perennial playoff contender.