Dominant lines, CJ Carr's ascent, and a focused defense are key. Can Marcus Freeman lead Notre Dame to championship glory in 2026?
Now that the 2025-2026 college football season is coming to a close, it's time for Notre Dame to turn the page to the upcoming season. Two years ago, they played for a title but fell to Ohio State. This year, after starting 0-2, they didn't have the opportunity to play for a title. This upcoming year is going to be big for head coach Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish.
Today, on the Irish Breakdown Podcast, we talked about the key things Notre Dame has to focus on the go from contending for a title to winning the National Championship. We also broke down the title game tonight between the No. 1 Indiana Hoosiers and the No. 10 Miami Hurricanes and gave our predictions for how we think the 2025-2026 National Championship will play out.
You can watch the entire show here:
Here are some of the topics discussed in today's show:
On Dominant Line Play...
"If the offensive and defensive line play to their potential this upcoming season, I don't know if they play a competitive game in the regular season. With all of the skill and talent coming back around them too, talent isn't a question amongst the lines. It is fair, at certain spots, to question the experience. If you're doing the job as a coach that you need to, I'm willing to rely on the talent. I'm willing to project onto Will Black's upside that he's going to be okay if he's in the starting lineup. I know Armel Mukam has not played a 200-300 snap season, but I'm willing to bet on his upside."
On CJ Carr's Continued Ascension...
"We're talking about a kid that, in his first year as a starting quarterback, finished in the Top 5 nationally in passer rating this year. He was 5th behind Drew Mestemaker. He was 1.4 behind Deigo Pavia. Last year, he ranked 3rd in all of college football behind Mestemaker and Fernando Mendoza in yards per attempt last season. Carr was already pretty good. It's about making normal year two strides and you're arguably the best quarterback in college football. His ascent is going to be incredibly important to Notre Dame being a championship team in 2026."
On Chris Ash Making Smart Decisions...
"We saw two Chris Ash's last year. We saw the one in the first four games who was trying to turn this defense into something it didn't need to be. Then we saw a coach in the last seven games who bought into what these players did well and he coached to their strengths. When he did that, boy this defense was nasty. Now, in 2026, we need to see the second version of Chris Ash be the dominant presence from day one."
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