Notre Dame's loaded roster and top recruiting class fuel early national title aspirations, earning them a No. 4 ranking in On3's preseason poll.
After tonight's National Championship matchup between No. 1 seeded Indiana and No. 10 seeded Miami, the 2025-2026 college football season will have come to a close. As crazy as it is to say, it's already time to start looking ahead to the 2026 football season, and outlets have already started to release their Way-Too-Early Top 25 rankings. On3 released their rankings this morning and had the Notre Dame Fighting Irish as the No. 4 team in the country.
The Irish also received one first place vote which is tied with Texas (No. 3), Georgia (No.2) and trailing Ohio State (No. 1) who has three first place votes. Head coach Marcus Freeman returns one of the most loaded rosters in college football, and On3 is extremely high on the talent coming back to South Bend.
"This season should be vastly different for Notre Dame after last year’s disappointing College Football Playoff snub and then opting out of a bowl game. The Irish lose star running back Jeremiyah Love, but return a lot of other key players, including quarterback CJ Carr and several defensive standouts: linebackers Drayk Bowen and Jaylen Sneed, defensive end Boubacar Traore, cornerback Christian Gray and safety Adon Shuler. The Irish’s defense could be one of the nation’s best and should dominate a schedule featuring only two teams in On3’s Way Too Early Top 25 (No. 9 Miami and No. 13 BYU)." - Brett McMurphy, On3
Oddly enough, one of the players not listed in On3's run down of Notre Dame's top level talent is star cornerback Leonard Moore who was a Unanimous All-American as a true sophomore. Their portal acquisitions were also left out of this conversation about Notre Dame's roster and their recruiting class which was ranked No. 1 by their service.
Either way, this is an extremely talented roster returning to South Bend; all chips are on the table and after last season's playoff snub, the Irish are going all in on this year to bring home the 12th National Championship. Freeman and his staff have a spoil of riches across the board. This team is loaded with depth and high-level talent that will make impact plays Saturday after Saturday.
Two of Notre Dame's regular season opponents are also named in On3's Way-Too-Early Top 25. The Miami Hurricanes are ranked No. 9 while the BYU Cougars are ranked No. 13. The Hurricanes play for the title this evening against the Hoosiers and the Cougars are a team who also felt like they belonged in the playoffs this season. Navy and SMU also received votes amongst On3 voters to be ranked in the Top 25. The Irish will play both the Midshipmen and the Mustangs in 2026.
On3 Way-Too-Early Top 25
1. Ohio State Buckeyes
2. Georgia Bulldogs
3. Texas Longhorns
4. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
5. Indiana Hoosiers
6. Oregon Ducks
7. Texas Tech Red Raiders
8. Texas A&M Aggies
9. Miami Hurricanes
10. Oklahoma Sooners
11. Michigan Wolverines
12. LSU Tigers
13. BYU Cougars
14. Penn State Nittany Lions
15. Ole Miss Rebels
16. Utah Utes
17. Alabama Crimson Tide
18. Washington Huskies
19. USC Trojans
20. Tennessee Volunteers
21. Iowa Hawkeyes
22. Houston Cougars
23. Virginia Tech Hokies
24. Florida Gators
25. Arizona Wildcats
Also received votes: Vanderbilt, Louisville, Duke, Missouri, Navy, Baylor, Georgia Tech, Arizona State, Clemson, Illinois, UCLA, South Carolina, Northwestern and SMU.
-------
Be sure to stay locked into Irish Breakdown all the time!