So far this year, it’s not surprising to see analysts projecting the Notre Dame football team going to the playoffs, but the most recent early projection is a bit surprising as it has the Irish losing early on.
Most of the projections for the College Football Playoffs have the Fighting Irish going pretty far. One even has them getting back to the championship game. But Ari Wasserman isn’t among those who is convinced Marcus Freeman can get his team back into the field.
The On3 analyst put out his pass at predicting who will make the playoffs. He predicts that the Notre Dame football will indeed make the field again and they’re going to be the No. 6 seed, hosting the South Carolina Gamecocks. However, it turns out that instead of the kind of run the Irish had this year, Wasserman says the SEC upstart will somehow find a win the game in South Bend.
NEW: 2026 College Football Playoff Projection via @AriWasserman🏆
— On3 (@On3sports) February 5, 2025
Do you agree? 🤔https://t.co/zjZJual9Rt pic.twitter.com/Zva4X8flTp
Notre Dame football gets early playoff exit in latest projection
Wasserman believes that the Gamecocks will then lose in the second round of the playoffs to an in-state rival. He thinks South Carolina will be bested by Clemson after they upend the Blue and Gold.
You can check out the rest of the field above but the bottom line is that Notre Dame football fans aren’t going to be too happy with this projection. It’s one thing to get upset in the first round of the playoffs (there wasn’t a single first-round upset this year) but it’s another to get upset in South Bend.