Will Notre Dame, Marcus Freeman live up to national championship hype in 2026?

Notre Dame coach Marcus Freeman reiterated his theme for this year's team ahead of Sunday's matchup against Wisconsin at Lambeau Field in a press conference Monday. 

"It's been an ongoing message, but I've said previously it's a reminder to leave no doubt today," Freeman said at his Monday press conference. "Leave no doubt with what you have. That message will be, 'Leave no doubt on this Monday and the same thing on Tuesday.'" 

If "Leave no doubt" – an iconic one-liner in the movie "Remember the Titans" – translates for the entirety of the 2026 regular season, then there will be no arguments about Notre Dame's place in the College Football Playoff.

There is no doubt the Irish are the most popular preseason national championship pick heading into the 2026 season among college football experts. The Notre Dame national championship hype is real. Should it be?

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Why Notre Dame is a popular national championship pick 

ESPN's Kirk Herbstreit and Fox's Joel Klatt have the Irish ending a national championship drought that extends back to 1988. It's also a sweep from NBC Sports with Nicole Auerbach and Joshua Perry. Sports Illustrated's Pat Forde and The Athletic's Bruce Feldman are among those picking Notre Dame this season. Five ESPN writers and two more USA Today writers also are among the group. 

The hype is here. Freeman enters his fifth full season as Notre Dame's coach with a team that is ranked No. 4 in the AP Preseason Top 25. The Irish finished 10-2 last season but were left out of the College Football Playoff in a controversial decision where Miami jumped the Irish in the final set of CFP rankings despite neither team playing in the final week.

What is the substance behind that hype – other than the motivation to right that wrong from last season? Per usual, it starts at quarterback. Notre Dame's CJ Carr is among the leading Heisman Trophy contenders. He finished with 2,741 passing yards, 24 TDs and six interceptions last season. Carr's second season as a starter with offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock should be even better. 

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Left guard Anthonie Knapp leads an experienced offensive line, and running backs Aneyas Williams and Kedren Young are tasked with replacing the production left by first-round picks Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price. Ohio State transfers Mylan Graham and Quincy Porter added talent at receiver. 

The defense – led by second-year coordinator Chris Ash – features SN preseason All-America defensive backs Leonard Moore and Brauntae Johnson and linebacker Drayk Bowen. Boubacar Traore is another potential candidate to be a first-round pick. The Irish are close to accumulating back-to-back top-five recruiting classes, and Freeman's reputation as one of the most charismatic player's coaches in the game continues to grow. 

Notre Dame hasn't had this kind of vibe since Lou Holtz was on campus. Speaking of which, that is yet another intangible piece to this season. The Irish will honor Holtz – who passed away on March 4 – with a special helmet decal. For those who believe in the Irish mystique – what would be a more fitting way to honor Holtz, who led that magical national championship run in 1988? 

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Will Notre Dame live up to the hype this time? 

This marks the sixth time Notre Dame opened in the top five of the AP Preseason Top 25 since 1988. 

In those five seasons, the Irish lost three or more games five times. That included 1994 – a 6-5-1 season which came a year after Beano Cook made the prediction that Ron Powlus would win two Heisman Trophy awards at Notre Dame. The 2006 team gave up 40-plus points in losses to No. 11 Michigan, No. 3 USC and No. 4 LSU. The 2022 team under Freeman opened the season with losses to No. 2 Ohio State and Marshall – and nearly fell to 0-3 before pulling out a 24-17 win against Cal. 

Notre Dame in preseason Top 25 since 1990 

There is always a touch of cynicism when it comes to the Irish and preseason hype. So what's different this year? Freeman said the Irish have the right leadership in place this season. Carr, Bowen, safety Adon Shuler and receiver Jordan Faison – a former Notre Dame lacrosse player – are the team captains. 

"Coaches get away from the team for the summer for a couple weeks," Freeman said Monday. "When I got back I remember some of the coaches that were here — the sports performance staff — had said, 'We have more player-led leadership than in previous years. It was reflected in the voting.'" 

Of course, that hype could go away fast. Notre Dame lost to No. 10 Miami and No. 16 Texas A&M in the first two weeks last season – and that led to the eventual snub. This year, No. 14 BYU (Oct. 17), No. 7 Miami (Nov. 7) and No. 19 SMU (Nov. 21) are the only ranked teams on the schedule.

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Notre Dame seemingly has the quarterback, coach and schedule necessary for a deep College Football Playoff run. That all starts with a trip to Lambeau Field on Sunday. They also learned a valuable lesson from last season. A change in the CFP format means Notre Dame will be included in the College Football Playoff if it is ranked in the top 12 of the CFP rankings. Yet Notre Dame learned last season it is best to stay inside the cut line.

Perhaps that’s why "Leave no doubt" is the perfect message this season – and it starts in Green Bay against Wisconsin. 

"Every week you're going to look at the opportunity as all you have," Freeman said. "This is all we got. This is the most-important game of the year."