CBS Sports positions Notre Dame at No. 5 nationally, sparking debate about their talent, coaching, and surprisingly tough schedule against ranked opponents.
Now that spring has come to a close, it's time for major outlets to release their Post-Spring Top 25 rankings. CBS Sports is the latest to put out there post-spring rankings and it's definitely an interesting ranking to evaluate. Some teams are where we thought they'd be while others are incredibly too high. But you'll have that in rankings that get released over 120 days from the season starting.
CBS Sports had Notre Dame ranked as the No. 5 team in the country coming out of spring being the Texas Longhorns (No. 1), the Ohio State Buckeyes (No. 2), the Oregon Ducks (No. 3) and the Georgia Bulldogs (No. 4). Those teams were also ranked in the Top 10 in Irish Breakdown's Post-Spring Top 25 rankings. The rationale for CBS Sports for having the Irish inside of the Top 5 is different than what we had.
"We'll talk all summer about Notre Dame's "easy" schedule," Brandon Marcello of CBS Sports shared. "Critics will poke holes in the Irish's championship plans, fueled mostly by the PR hit they received for whining about their exclusion from the CFP and opting out of a bowl game in December. But don't let that cloud the true evaluation of the team's talent and a top-5 coaching staff."
We can all agree the level of talent on Notre Dame's roster and the status of their 'top-5 coaching staff' is becoming undeniable. That's something that can't be questioned heading into the season in my opinion. Their 'easy' schedule isn't even worth talking about at this point, especially considering CBS Sports ranked three of their opponents in their Post-Spring Top 25 including a Miami team that's ranked in the Top 10 and a BYU team ranked inside of the Top 20, which I think is too low.
The Irish don't have a schedule compared to Ohio State's or some teams in the SEC and I don't think there's any debating that. But we have to find the grey area between 'a gauntlet' and a 'cupcake' schedule because Notre Dame's is neither.
Now, with that being said, there's very little margin for error for the Irish this season. They can't afford, like last season, to drop two games to the two best teams that they play because that's a first-class ticket to being left out of the playoffs despite what the MOU states. The committee will drop Notre Dame outside of the top 12 teams if they lose to BYU and Miami and with the roster they return this season, it would be understandable.
I don't think that will be an issue for the Irish this season, but until they go out and prove it, it's all speculation. But after seeing them this offseason and watching the development of this roster on both sides of the ball, we can conclude this Notre Dame team will be very, very good in 2026. Now it's about going out, proving it and leaving no doubt.
CBS Sport's Post-Spring Top 25
1. Texas Longhorns
2. Ohio State Buckeyes
3. Oregon Ducks
4. Georgia Bulldogs
5. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
6. Indiana Hoosiers
7. Miami Hurricanes
8. Texas A&M Aggies
9. LSU Tigers
10. Oklahoma Sooners
11. Texas Tech Red Raiders
12. USC Trojans
13. Ole Miss Rebels
14. Alabama Crimson Tide
15. Michigan Wolverines
16. Tennessee Volunteers
17. BYU Cougars
18. Iowa Hawkeyes
19. Penn State Nittany Lions
20. Missouri Tigers
21. Washington Huskies
22. Clemson Tigers
23. Florida Gators
24. Utah Utes
25. SMU Mustangs
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