Irish prepare for a gauntlet of talented quarterbacks, featuring transfer stars and seasoned playoff contenders. This 2026 slate promises electrifying matchups.
We've said on many different shows and articles that we believe 2026 is going to be a dominant year of quarterback play in college football. Notre Dame's regular season schedule features a handful of players who will contribute to that narrative becoming a reality. All 12 of the quarterbacks they face will be in the mix or rise to the cream of the crop, but the Irish do face several talented and experienced quarterbacks on their 2026 schedule.
I put together a ranking of the top quarterbacks Notre Dame will face in the regular season. Ultimately, this came down to what they did in the season prior, their fit in a new scheme if they transferred or their return to where they played in 2025. Some players were harder to place than others, but this is a talented group of quarterbacks nonetheless.
1. Darien Mensah, Miami
The former Duke quarterback is taking his talents to Miami for the 2026 season. The Hurricanes were in need of another quarterback after the departure of Carson Beck who helped lead them to the national title game this past season. Mensah is a strong pick up for Miami; he isn't what Cam Ward was for them in 2024, but he's a step up from Beck in a lot of ways. Last season, the 6-3, 206-pound quarterback threw for 3,973 yards, completed 66.8 percent of his passes, threw 34 touchdowns and six interceptions. His ability as a pocket passer fits well in a system that will feature running back Mark Fletcher and pass catchers Malachi Toney, Cooper Barkate, Vandrevious Jacobs and Elija Lofton.
2. Kevin Jennings, SMU
Jennings returns to the Mustangs for his senior season entering, basically, his third year as the starting quarterback. The 6-0, 192-pound Texas native is the most experienced quarterback Notre Dame will face this season; he had a case to be No. 1 overall on this list. Jennings is also the only quarterback on this list with playoff experience, but his performance in the first round of the 2024 College Football Playoffs carried over into the 2025 season. Things turned around for Jennings at the midway point and he finished the season with 3,641 passing yards, 26 touchdown passes and 13 interceptions. He'll have a couple of talented weapons to throw to this season including rising sophomore Jalen Cooper and returning starter Yamir Knight.
3. Bear Bachmeier, BYU
As a true freshman in 2025, Bachmeier led the Cougars to the Big 12 title game and an overall record of 12-2. Along the way, he threw for 3,033 yards, rushed for 527 yards, completed 64.9 percent of his passes, threw for 15 touchdowns, rushed for an additional 11 scores and threw seven interceptions. His performance as a true freshman turned a lot of heads, and he's one of the more talented players on this schedule. His performance in big games as a passer left a lot to be desired, and it kept him from being higher on this list. This season, he'll be rejoined in the backfield by running back LJ Martin and gets his leading receiver back in Parker Kingston.
4. Colton Joseph, Wisconsin
The former Old Dominion quarterback transferred to Madison, Wisconsin in this past portal window. He's one of the best projected starters for the Badgers under center in the last five years with his abilities as a dual threat quarterback. This past season, he threw for 2,624 yards, 21 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Joseph also added 1,007 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns. He'll need continued development as a passer, but his abilities with his legs is undeniable. Wisconsin's backfield as a whole will be one of the more underrated groups in the Big 10.
5. Ryan Browne, Purdue
Browne didn't have the season many hoped he would in 2025, but he's one of the few returning starters that Notre Dame faced last season, and the Michigan native played well against the Irish on the road in 2025. The 6-4, 210-pound quarterback threw for 250 yards, completed 61.8 percent of his passes and threw for one touchdown and an interception against the Irish inside of Notre Dame Stadium last fall. He finished the year with 2,153 passing yards, nine touchdown passes, 10 interceptions, 206 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns. Browne is heading into year two under center and year two in Barry Odom's system.
6. Braxton Woodson, Navy
Woodson is the other returning starter that the Irish faced last fall. He replaced an injured Blake Horvath just hours prior to kickoff. The 6-3. 215-pound quarterback is the only individual player that rushed for over 100-yards against Notre Dame in 2025 and he did it in the first half. He isn't the passer that Horvath was, but still has abilities to get the ball down the field. Last season, as the back up, Woodson still rushed for 414 yards, averaged 9.4 yards per carry and rushed for six scores. He returns to the Midshipmen this season and will be their No. 1 guy with Horvath's collegiate career having come to an end.
7. Billy Edwards Jr., North Carolina
In his lone season as a starter with Maryland in 2024, Edwards was a productive quarterback. The Virginia native threw for 2,881 yards, completed 65 percent of his passes, threw for 15 touchdowns, nine interceptions, rushed for 150 yards and an additional five scores. He transferred to Wisconsin ahead of the 2025 season but he tore his PCL in their season opener. This past offseason, the 6-3, 228-pound quarterback transferred to North Carolina where he's presumed to be the starter after Gio Lopez's departure this winter.
8. Alessio Milivojevic, Michigan State
Milivojevic took over for former starter Aidan Chiles in the final four games of the regular season. In those four opportunities against Minnesota on the road, Penn State at home, Iowa on the road and Maryland at home, the 6-2, 218-pound quarterback threw for 986 yards, completed 65.4 % of his passes, threw seven touchdowns and two interceptions. This year, Milivojevic returns as their starter under a new regime with Pat FItzgerald coming over from Northwestern. The Illinois native will have several new weapons to throw to including Notre Dame transfer wideout KK Smith.
9. Davis Warren, Stanford
Stanford looked to the portal to find their starting quarterback after the departure of Elijah Brown. They found an experienced player in Michigan transfer Davis Warren who was their starter in 2024. Warren backed up talented true freshman Bryce Underwood this past season but didn't play a single snap in 2025. The 6-2, 195-pound California native heads back to his home state to play for the Cardinal in hopes of generating some sort of passing game with this offense. As a passer, Warren is a slight upgrade from previous Stanford quarterback Ben Gulbranson, but the upgrade is marginal.
10. Jacurri Brown, Rice
After previous starter Chase Jenkins transferred to Kansas, the Owls were in need of a new starting quarterback. They looked to the portal and elected to go Brown, a transfer from UCF. Brown has five career starts under his belt between his time at Miami from 2022-2023 and his time at UCF from 2024-2025. In his career, Brown has totaled 906 passing yards, six touchdown passes, nine interceptions, 823 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns. His career didn't pan out at the P4 level, but I like his fit as a dual threat quarterback at the G5 level with Rice. The 6-4, 220-pound dual threat quarterback will be one of the better athletes the Irish will face at the position this season.
11. Mason McKenzie/Grayson Wilson, Boston College
The Eagles come in at the final spot in this ranking. First, they don't have a decided starter unlike the other 12 schools in this list. You could make the argument for Syracuse given Angeli's unknown time table, but I like the outlook on who they picked up in the portal over what Boston College has coming back. Their starter this season will either be Saginaw Valley transfer, McKenzie, or redshirt freshman Grayson Wilson who has yet to play a snap in college. Head coach Bill O'Brien had a very underwhelming season in 2025 with a lot of talent on offense. The outlook for 2026 is certainly that of an uphill battle out in Chestnut Hill.
***Steve Angeli, Syracuse
Every ounce of me wanted to put Angeli higher on this list, and not just because he's a former Notre Dame guy. Last season, in three and a half games, the New Jersey native threw for 1,317 yards, 10 touchdowns and two interceptions. Heading into the final week of September, Angeli led the nation in passing yards. Unfortunately, in their impressive road victory over Clemson, the 6-3, 212-pound quarterback tore his achilles which sidelined him for the rest of the season. I have Angeli unranked on this list because there are too many unknowns to put him at a solidified spot on this list. It wouldn't be fair to put him anywhere on this list without knowing when he returns or the state he'll be in once he returns.
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