Notre Dame may be hitting the road early, according to one analyst’s surprise bracket

One of the most interesting things about the Notre Dame football team is that they likely don't need to go undefeated to make the playoffs. However, while JD Pickell thinks the Fighting Irish have a little more room for error than usual, it appears he's not convinced Marcus Freeman and Co. are the juggernaut some other analysts have predicted.

In a recent podcast episode, Pickell laid out how he thinks the season is going to go. He picked conference champions as well as the playoff field and who will win the national championship. One surprising tidbit from that episode is that he is very on board with LSU, picking them to win the SEC and eventually win the National Title. That's already something Notre Dame fans aren't going to love, as Brian Kelly is not a favored son in South Bend.

How JD Pickell’s playoff bracket positions Notre Dame football in 2025

But what should really get Notre Dame football fans angry is where Pickell has the Irish. While he does have them getting into the playoffs, they do have a loss or two because he's slated them into the No. 11 seed, and they'll travel to Happy Valley for a rematch against Penn State.

"This will be a rematch of last season’s Orange Bowl. Notre Dame emerged victorious in last season’s meeting in the CFP 27-24, after the Irish came back from a two-score deficit in the fourth quarter to overcome the Nittany Lions."

"Penn State will be looking for revenge in this meeting. The Nittany Lions are aided by home field advantage, which they didn’t have in last season's neutral national semifinal."

That's right, Pickell believes the Irish are getting bounced out of the playoffs in the first round. He then has Penn State going on and losing to Clemson in the first round, who, in turn, loses to Ohio State.

The Buckeyes will then return to the title game, where they'll lose to the Bayou Bengals, who knocked off Oregon in their semifinal game.

For Pickell, it's a prediction that seems to track with other predictions he's made about the Notre Dame football team, but Fighting Irish fans likely won't be happy with his picks.