Unpacking Notre Dame's talent, Blue-Gold game value, and changing football eras. The Irish roster is set for a national title run.
Another week has come and gone during the offseason, and even though the Irish don't kick off for another 212 days, the season will be here before you know it. One thing that helps pass the time if the Friday free-for-all mailbag we do on the Irish Breakdown Podcast. We had loads of great questions this week about Notre Dame's schedule, the Blue Gold game and the overall talent of the roster.
There's a lot to be excited for with this 2026 Notre Dame football team. Now that National Signing Day is officially behind us, the roster is complete and head coach Marcus Freeman has his unit to make another run at the national title. We discussed all of these topics and more in this week's edition of the Friday free-for-all mailbag on the Irish Breakdown podcast.
You can watch the entire show here:
Here are some of the questions we answered in today's free-for-all mailbag:
On Notre Dame's Level Of Talent Compared To Their Schedule...
"Look, this is one of the most talented rosters in the country and with all due respect to some of the opponents on their schedule, none of them have a roster that compares to what Notre Dame brings to the table. It's about preparing and handling business on the field because, I'd argue, that was the case in 2025. They didn't go undefeated, but I firmly believe that Notre Dame had a better roster from top to bottom than any opponent they faced last year. The same can be said for this upcoming season."
On The Value Of Keeping The Blue And Gold Scrimmage Every Spring...
"This is their way of giving back to fans. What makes collegiate sports, or sports in general for that matter? It's the fans. Fans is what drives revenue for home games and TV ratings and merchandise sales. The Blue Gold game is one of the only opportunities that many fans have to afford to sit inside of that historic stadium. Taking away the spring game does nothing more than serve as a disservice to the fan base."
On The Different Eras Of College Football...
"It changes. Usually, it's 10 to 20 years and the biggest thing is the changes in how the game is played. What's truly different about the 1980's compared to now? Players are bigger, faster and stronger to a degree but the style of the game is completely different. The biggest difference is how teams played. There were the occasional teams who would run and gun but most teams ran the triple option on offense. Run games were different and so were passing games. It's so hard to gauge who would win in these hypothetical matchups between a team from this era and a team from the 1980's."
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