Heading closer and closer to the 2026 season, the hype around the Notre Dame football team only seems to be growing. The Fighting Irish appear to have plenty of strengths and very few weaknesses, but as ESPN's Heather Dinnich just pointed out, Marcus Freeman's squad does have some chips in its armor.
Dinnich put together an article that laid out the strengths and weaknesses of every Top 25 team in the country. Even the Fighting Irish have some things they need to work on to win a National Title.
Notre Dame football's biggest strength is no surprise in the defense
To the surprise of no one, the ESPN analyst pegs "defensive experience" as Notre Dame's strength:
"Nine of the top tacklers from 2025 return, including safety Adon Shuler (53 tackles) and cornerback Leonard Moore (31). The Irish also have a veteran secondary and an elite group of linebackers. DT Francis Brewu (Pittsburgh) and DL Keon Keeley (Alabama) were important transfer portal additions on the defensive line. With some key veterans recovering from injuries, this unit should be one of the best in the country this fall.
The weakness shouldn't surprise anyone either. It's not a position group or player that's the problem for Dinnich. Instead, it's that Notre Dame doesn't play a very tough schedule. For the Irish in the age of the College Football Playoff, a schedule that doesn't have a ton of heavyweights means there's very little room for error:
Notre Dame's weakness is everybody else
"Under the new CFP rules that begin this season, if Notre Dame is ranked in the selection committee's final top 12, the Irish are guaranteed a playoff spot and won't get displaced, as happened in 2025. With a relatively soft schedule, though, there's not much margin for error. The three toughest games are against BYU, Miami and SMU, the latter two of which are home games. All three of those opponents are also CFP contenders, though, and as everyone was reminded last season -- head-to-head matters."
While it's annoying that Notre Dame doesn't totally control its own destiny because of its schedule, it's a bit reassuring that the team's biggest "weakness" isn't actually a part of the team.
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