For the first time in program history, the 22nd-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish travel down to Fayetteville, Arkansas to take on the Razorbacks this Saturday at 12:00 PM ET. Both head coach Marcus Freeman for the Irish and Sam Pittman for the Razorbacks will be looking to pick up signature wins to get this season turned around in a hurry. In order to do so, both teams will be relying on their talent on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.
These two programs rarely meet on the recruiting trail, something that is reflective in the make up of both rosters. Notre Dame relies heavily on home grown athletes recruited out of high school while the majority of the starters and key rotational players for Arkansas are transfers. Let’s look at the recruiting comparison, using the On3 rankings to compare.
Notre Dame Offense vs Arkansas Defense
The Irish have eight four-star players, two three-star players and one unranked player in their projected offensive starting lineup for Saturday. Arkansas has three four-star players, seven three-star players and one unranked player in their projected defensive starting lineup.
From a recruiting perspective, this matchup favors Notre Dame across the board. They have five more former four-star players in their projected starting lineup than the Razorbacks. Neither team has a former five-star recruit in their projected starting lineup or in their top reserves. The Irish have ten Top 300 recruits listed in their starting lineup and as top reserves headlined by right guard Guerby Lambert (No. 42), quarterback CJ Carr (No. 68) and running back Jeremiyah Love (No. 77).
Arkansas has five former Top 300 recruits listed in their projected starting lineup and top reserve players headlined by rotational cornerback Jaheim Singletary (No. 26), linebacker Xavien Sorey Jr. (No. 46) and rotational defensive end Justus Boone (No. 183). Notre Dame's lone unranked player has also played significantly above his high school recruiting status and is currently Notre Dame's leading receiver in total receptions and touchdown receptions.
Notre Dame Defense vs Arkansas Offense
Notre Dame has eight four-star players and three three-star players in their projected defensive starting lineup. The Razorbacks have three four-star players and eight three-star players in their projected offensive starting lineup for Saturday.
Similar to the offensive side of the ball, this matchup favors Notre Dame on paper. They have eight former Top 300 recruits in their projected starting lineup. Linebacker Jaylen Sneed (No. 35), defensive end Bryce Young (No. 56) and linebacker Drayk Bowen (No. 103) headline this group. They also have linebacker Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa (No. 43), nickel corner Dallas Golden (No. 108) and defensive end Joshua Burnham (No. 108) as some of their top reserve players. This is an extremely talented Fighting Irish defense.
Arkansas has two former Top 300 recruits in their starting line up in wide receiver Jalen Brown (No. 79) and tight end Jalen Platt (No. 237) who transferred in from Texas A&M. With that being said, players like quarterback Taylen Green, a former three-star, are playing higher than their initial recruiting ranking. Green has 1,191 passing yards, 360 rushing yards, 14 total touchdowns and four interceptions so far this season.
CLASS RANKINGS
Here are the class rankings of the two programs from the last five seasons. (247 Composite Ranking)
Notre Dame
2025 – 12
2024 – 9
2023 – 12
2022 – 7
2021 – 9
Arkansas
2025 - 33
2024 - 30
2023 - 22
2022 - 28
2021 - 25
Advantage: Notre Dame
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