Now that everyone has finished up their spring practice sessions, plenty of analysts are offering up their “post-spring” rankings, and most of them have decided that Notre Dame will be dominant at a level it hasn’t been at since 1988. However, at least one analyst hasn’t quite bought into the Fighting Irish being a real power this year. Perhaps it’s because they’ve managed to allow some upsets every season that they’re supposed to romp over a schedule.
Notre Dame keeps getting hype but one ranking still feels insulting
CBS Sports Chip Patterson put together the site’s rankings of all 138 teams in FBS. While the Irish are ranked in the Top 5, they aren’t ranked as high as some other analysts have pegged them. Patterson believes Marcus Freeman’s squad is the 4th ranked team. While that doesn’t seem like a massive slight, it is lower than most. More importantly, when laying out why certain teams could win the national title, Notre Dame isn’t mentioned.
Ohio State, Texas, Oregon, and Miami are the four teams that CBS Sports experts believe could have a claim on the title. In the rankings, Ohio State and Texas are numbers 1 and 2. Oregon is No. 3, and so there’s at least an understandable reason why those three would get special attention. It’s Miami, which the site ranked No. 7, but it's also mentioned as a team that will win it all, which should annoy Notre Dame fans.
“The assumption from those outside of Coral Gables is that Miami's roster has weakened since last season's national championship game appearance. But in actuality, the Hurricanes enhanced their starting lineup at quarterback, wideout and in the secondary. Personnel departures to the NFL Draft at the line of scrimmage were addressed in the transfer portal, along with the addition of five-star freshman offensive tackle Jackson Cantwell, the top-rated player at his position this cycle,” Brad Crawford wrote about Mario Cristobal’s team.
Meanwhile, the Fighting Irish return so many parts from a team that finished 2025 with 10 straight wins. Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price are gone, but most analysts believe the roster itself is stronger. Especially when considering CJ Carr in his second year as a starting quarterback. ND’s loss to Miami could be blamed almost entirely on that game being Carr’s first-ever start. Even if guys like Powers tend to forget.
Marcus Freeman can use Notre Dame football’s lingering doubt as serious fuel
Joel Klatt isn’t among those who think the Irish are among the best in the country. In his own post-spring rankings, he made it clear that Notre Dame winning 10 straight and getting snubbed from the playoffs will be a reason they’ll make a run.
“I love a team that's pissed off, and Notre Dame is going to be ready from Jump Street. You think Marcus Freeman's not going to have the attention of his team after the way last season ended? That was a team that felt like it could make a run to the national championship,” he ranked No. 2 heading into the fall.
Notre Dame clearly still has its doubters. They should use it as a chip on their shoulders to prove them wrong.
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