The Notre Dame football team has all kinds of hype surrounding it for the 2026 season. Of course, when saying that there’s a ton of hype, the allusion is that they may not be as good as people think. However, when talking about the Fighting Irish, the team has the stuff to go all the way, and it’s really not hard to see.
Veteran wide receivers, a quarterback coming off his first year as a starter, and looking even better than he did last year. A defense that coordinator Chris Ash believes is as good as it gets. Certainly, there’s plenty of talent at linebacker, in the defensive backfield, and on the defensive line.
When is hype, not really hype? When Notre Dame is indeed one of the best teams in the country. CBS Sports analyst Brad Powers admits that the Irish are in the Top Tier in the nation. He also thinks that people need to start realizing just how good CJ Carr can be, because it will be too late for anyone to say “they always knew” when his team is 6-0 and rolling towards 12-0.
“This season is Marcus Freeman's time to shine,” Powers wrote. “Not only do the Fighting Irish welcome back several All-American candidates on both sides of the ball, but they'll face only a couple of teams during the regular season capable of matching them athletically.”
Brad Powers names Notre Dame among five national championship frontrunners
“Notre Dame is college football's villain this fall for a reason after last season's CFP snub, and the Fighting Irish are out for blood. Get on the CJ Carr bandwagon now because there's going to be no more room when Notre Dame starts 6-0 with ease.”
Powers named the Golden Domers as one of five “frontrunners” for a national title. The qualifications to get into this tier are obvious.
“These are the five programs that are clear national championship frontrunners, no matter who you ask inside the sport. In no particular order, these are the teams I'm comfortable penciling in as playoff locks this fall. Some have favorable schedules relative to their talent, while others have limitless resources that dwarf most of the Power Four.”
In addition to Notre Dame, the analyst has Ohio State, Oregon, Miami and Georgia.
This is also just a sign that when the Fighting Irish face off against Miami, it very well could be an unofficial College Football Playoff game at least for Marcus Freeman’s team. If the Hurricanes beat Notre Dame for the second straight season, considering how bad the rest of the Irish schedule is, it could be the end of their hopes for the CFP.
Miami has a little more room for error, but with the ACC not being all that great, and the Hurricanes tending to have at least one really bad loss a season, there’s a chance a loss in South Bend could be their unofficial season-ender.
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