Notre Dame Is Finally Ready to Make a National Championship Run

Notre Dame enters the 2026 season ranked higher in the preseason polls than it has been in 20 years. Marcus Freeman has his squad locked and loaded and truly ready for a real run at the national championship. Ending the now 38-year drought is no guarantee, but it is safe to say that, of every team since the ’88 squad won the title, this year’s is easily the most equipped to do it since the 1993 team that was robbed of one.

Most recent Notre Dame teams to start seasons with national championship dreams have had clear limitations that got overlooked in August while fans dreamt of title chasing. Whether it was limitations at quarterback, no speed at receiver, paper-thin frontline depth, porous secondaries, weak links on the staff (thinking of you, BVG), or a lack of a pass rush, almost every Notre Dame team in the last 30 years has had one or more of them.

That is not the case in 2026. Freeman enters year five as head coach at Notre Dame, having learned from many of his first-time head coach mistakes, with a roster so loaded that it’s hard for a lot of longtime Notre Dame fans to believe it’s real after years of being told Notre Dame had to shop down a different aisle.

Depth That Travels

Let’s start with just how deep this squad is. Notre Dame was in the national championship game two years ago, but the biggest weakness of that team compared to the Ohio State squad it faced was depth. Notre Dame limped into the title game, having lost Rocco Spindler, Anthonie Knapp, and Rylie Mills in the playoffs after already losing Benjamin Morrison, Boubacar Traore, Jordan Botelho, and Ashton Craig during the season. Several others, like Jeremiyah Love, were banged up and clearly not 100%.

This isn’t to make excuses for losing that game, but to contrast it with how much depth Ohio State had. The Buckeyes had injuries too. Their depth was superior and let them absorb them. Two years later, Notre Dame has built its depth to a point where it would be in much better shape in a championship game if it had to replace the same players.

Marcus Freeman spoke last week about Notre Dame being three-deep on the defensive interior. That’s night and day from where Notre Dame was when it had to replace Mills in the playoffs after he turned into a game-wrecker for the Irish defense. Freeman and Mike Denbrock say the Irish have five backs capable of playing. Notre Dame has at least four linebackers who would start at a majority of programs.

There is depth up and down this roster that didn’t exist a few years ago, and it’s there because of the work Freeman and staff have put in on the recruiting trail. In years past, depth meant developmental players getting snaps before they were ready, and that happened more often than it should have.

A Quarterback Who Changes the Ceiling

One of the biggest limitations Notre Dame teams have had in making a real run at the Natty has been under center. Notre Dame has lacked a real star quarterback like CJ Carr since Brady Quinn and Jimmy Clausen back in the 2000s. There have been good, and some even really good, quarterbacks since then, but no one quite like Carr. Even Ian Book, the program’s winningest quarterback, had his limitations, for as good as he was.

Carr enters the season as a clear Heisman candidate and, in some eyes, a front-runner. He had his rookie moments in 2025, like his brutal turnover at the end of the first half against Texas A&M, but by the end of last year he no longer looked like a first-time starter. He enters 2026 with more experience and command of the Irish offense.

Denbrock has so many more options at his disposal this year with Carr where he is in his development than he did a year ago. Much like the difference between year one and year two with Jayden Daniels when Denbrock was the OC at LSU, look for him to open up the playbook and let Carr sling it all over the field.

If there is one lingering question on offense, it is at receiver, but the Irish have so many potential answers that it would be a shock if they didn’t find one by the end of September.

Loaded on Defense

This year’s defense is loaded. More loaded than any defense we’ve seen at Notre Dame since the early ’90s. Notre Dame has star power at every level, and it wouldn’t be at all surprising if there is an All-American at all three by the end of the season.

Along the line, Boubacar Traore and Bryce Young look primed for huge seasons, while transfer Keon Keeley has had a strong camp. Inside, the depth and top-line talent were huge questions in January, and they were answered through the portal.

Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa, when 100%, might be the best linebacker in the country. There were questions about his early-season availability at the start of camp after last year’s injury, but he looks ready to go. Drayk Bowen is a two-time captain. Jaiden Ausberry and Jaylen Sneed would be starting on most teams.

The secondary might be the best in the country, with superstar Leonard Moore at corner and stars Adon Shuler and Tae Johnson at safety.

Loaded. This defense is loaded.

The Staff Edge

Notre Dame looks to have a pair of elite coordinators again. Denbrock’s record is proven at this point, while defensive coordinator Chris Ash looks more like the coach he was at Ohio State than the one he looked like through the first month of his Notre Dame tenure last year.

The Irish did have to rebuild much of the defensive staff around them, but the replacements all look to be at least equal. Charlie Partridge specifically looks like a major upgrade along the defensive line.

In 2015, Notre Dame had the offense to make a run and was held back by a defensive scheme from Brian VanGorder that wasted the talents of Jaylon Smith, Keivarae Russell, Isaac Rochell, and Romeo Okwara.

Leave No Doubt

The x-factor for Notre Dame this year is last year’s playoff snub. Notre Dame didn’t just miss the playoffs. It got used by ESPN for ratings for weeks, only to be left out at the finish line after being “in” on the previous shows. Freeman has instilled the “Leave No Doubt” mantra all offseason, and this team has more of an edge to it than any other in recent years.

“Leave No Doubt” isn’t just a gimmick, either. This is a team that remembers what it feels like to be left at the altar and will do everything in its power not to be in that situation again.

Add all of this up, and it’s hard to find reasons why this team won’t be in contention for a national championship. Notre Dame’s runs in 2012 and 2024 were magical for fans, but the thing about magical runs is that deep down you know you’re punching above your weight class along the way. That won’t be the case this year. There isn’t a team in the country Notre Dame will line up against and be at a disadvantage the way it was against Alabama in 2012 or even Ohio State in 2024.

A lot still has to go right for Notre Dame to end the drought. But if it does, it won’t be because the stars aligned. It will be because Notre Dame is just really freaking good and can go toe to toe with anyone in the country. It’s been a long time coming, and in a few days the wait to see this team take the field will be over. Enjoy it, because it could be a hell of a ride.