With less than a week to go until college football, at number 6 on the CFB Top 50 countdown, we have the 2025 Notre Dame Fighting Irish.

Notre Dame has not won a national championship since the Lou Holtz days of 1988, a fact known well to Irish fans seeking their return to glory. Last year, they went on a miracle run, getting all the way to the national title game as a seven-seed, but coming up one win short. Nobody told me what this team’s mantra is in 2025, but I would guess it is something along the lines of “let’s finish what we started.”

However, they will have to do it with some new faces around, including at quarterback.

2025 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Basic Facts

Head Coach: Marcus Freeman (4th season)

2025 Conference: Independent

2024 Record: 14-2

Final Resolution of Last Season: CFP Runners-Up, ranked 2nd (AP)

2024 Scoring Offensive Rank: 10th (36.1)

2024 Scoring Defensive Rank: T-4th (15.5)

Notre Dame Key Additions and Subtractions

IN – Will Pauling, wide receiver. Transferred from Wisconsin.

IN – Malachi Fields, wide receiver. Transferred from Virginia.

OUT – Benjamin Morrison, cornerback. Drafted by Tampa Bay in 2nd round of 2025 Draft.

OUT – Xavier Watts, safety. Drafted by Atlanta in 3rd round of 2025 Draft.

OUT – Riley Leonard, quarterback. Drafted by Indianapolis in 6th round of 2025 Draft.

Best Game on the Schedule in 2025

October 18 vs. USC. There are not a whole lot of (points to TV) “that’s a premium matchup” games on the card this year for the Irish. At least this one is a huge rivalry with two elite programs. Besides, the Trojans’ coach may or may not be sitting his tuchus on an inferno at this stage, which would ratchet up the intensity.

2025 Notre Dame Fighting Irish: Outlook

It goes without saying that this is a good football team. Whether or not you think they have the swagger to go all the way and actually finish the job this season is another matter, but they will be in the conversation.

As of mid-August, the Irish have a quarterback competition between freshman CJ Carr and sophomore Kenny Minchey, both of whom redshirted. When this article is published, it may have come to a resolution, but as of the middle of the month, there was reportedly a close battle for the job between the two underclassmen (Sullivan, 2025). Can a young and inexperienced quarterback lead his team to the College Football Playoff? Sure, if he’s good and has talent around him, and Carr or Minchey will.

The fact is that Notre Dame’s schedule is pretty doable, and they will most likely race to double-digit wins again. Miami is a big game out of the gate, and we also see Texas A&M as a tough one. We already know (as of mid-August) that Notre Dame is a slight road favorite in Miami. Aside from that, the Irish should be favored going into every game this season, short of the team being unexpectedly mid. In fact, it’s possible they will be double-digit favorites in a majority of their games. Notre Dame must stay focused and avoid the random, unexpected upset in a road game like Boston College or Pitt. An 11-1 or 12-0 regular season is a distinct possibility and yes, anything less than this should be regarded as a disappointment.

References

2025 Notre Dame Fighting Irish Football depth Chart | Ourlads.com. (n.d.). https://www.ourlads.com/ncaa-football-depth-charts/depth-chart/notre-dame/91487

CFbStats.com – 2024 National team leaders. (n.d.-c). https://cfbstats.com/2024/leader/national/team/offense/split01/category09/sort01.html

CFbStats.com – 2024 National team leaders. (n.d.-d). https://cfbstats.com/2024/leader/national/team/defense/split01/category09/sort01.html

Sullivan, M. (2025, August 12). Notre Dame quarterbacks CJ Carr, Kenny Minchey in heated starter battle. Yahoo Sports. https://sports.yahoo.com/article/notre-dame-quarterbacks-cj-carr-180417763.html

Wikipedia contributors. (2025, August 11). 2025 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team. Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_Notre_Dame_Fighting_Irish_football_team