The 2025-26 Notre Dame football season will go down as one of the greatest what-ifs in program history. After a nightmare 0-2 start, head coach Marcus Freeman’s team rattled off 10 straight victories, seemingly en route to another College Football Playoff bid. However, despite having the fourth-best odds to win the title, the Irish missed out on the 12-team field entirely, falling behind No. 9 seed Alabama and No. 10 seed Miami during the final week. The decision colored a third straight 10-win season, one which saw junior running back Jeremiyah Love become a Heisman Trophy finalist and freshman CJ Carr emerge as the quarterback of the future.
An uphill climb
When Notre Dame’s schedule was released for the 2025-26 season, everyone circled weeks 1 and 2. Notre Dame was slated to open the season on the road against preseason No. 10 Miami, before returning home to face No. 19 Texas A&M, the two most difficult games of the season, with a quarterback who hadn’t taken a snap as a starter.
It looked dire in week one when the Hurricanes took a 21-7 lead midway through the third quarter. To that point, the Irish were owned along the trenches, outgained by over 100 yards on the ground. They showed life in the fourth, however, eventually evening the score at 24 with just over three minutes remaining. It would prove to be too little too late in the end. Quarterback Carson Beck got Miami into field goal range, and Carter Davis nailed the go-ahead field goal from 47 yards. With no timeouts and a minute left, the Irish failed the tall task of tying the game and fell to 0-1. This set up a must-win game against the Aggies inside Notre Dame Stadium.
Freeman’s group had an early bye week to prepare for the home opener. Part of this preparation included getting the junior running back duo of Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price more involved. The talented tandem combined for just 78 yards against Miami but more than doubled it with 162 between them in Week 3. The offense, however, was not the issue this time around. Quarterback Marcel Reed and company lit up the Notre Dame defense to the tune of 488 total yards and 41 points. But despite their defensive struggles, the Irish took the lead with under three minutes remaining, scoring six after a methodical, six-minute drive. That’s when it all fell apart. A botched snap led to a failed extra point, which proved to be the difference as Texas A&M scored in the dying seconds, tacking on the extra point to seal the win.
The devastating pair of losses raised questions about even the possibility of a playoff berth. Was Notre Dame eliminated in the second week of September?
“The future is uncertain,” Freeman said following the loss. “I don’t know what the playoff number is. It doesn’t matter. We need to focus on getting better and getting ready for next week.”
Gaining momentum
That’s exactly what Notre Dame did. One game at a time, it restored its defensive identity while evolving into an offensive powerhouse. In the two games following A&M, it laid 56 on both Purdue and Arkansas and held the Razorbacks to just 13 points. That game began a stretch of three straight second halves holding opponents scoreless as Notre Dame cruised past Boise State and NC State at home, winning 28-7 and 36-7, respectively. First-year defensive coordinator Chris Ash was heavily criticized after his group’s terrible start, which represented a fall from grace after last season’s dominance. However, he responded to the adversity with flying colors, proving himself to be a worthy successor to the great Al Golden.
On the other side of the ball, Carr was quickly developing into more than just a serviceable starter. He exploded for 300-plus yards against Arkansas and NC State, connecting on several highlight-reel throws while minimizing turnovers. But beyond the production, the freshman was already showcasing the necessary intangibles.
“There’s very few people that you come in contact with that are blessed with that leadership, competitive trait. I’m talking like not normal,” Freeman said about Carr.
As well as Carr was playing, though, Jeremiyah Love was the star of the Irish offense. After an anomaly against Miami, he proceeded to score at least one touchdown in every single game of the season. His signature moment came in what may have been the last Notre Dame-USC game for some time. He totaled 228 rushing yards, the most ever by a player inside Notre Dame Stadium, and found the end zone to help the Irish to a 34-24 rivalry win. After the second bye week of the season, the Irish eked out a 25-10 victory over Boston College on the road. Love’s 94-yard touchdown was the decisive moment in an uninspiring Holy War. At that point in the season, the Heisman conversations were already in full force. They got even louder the following week, when Love broke off a jaw-dropping touchdown run, miraculously avoiding the ground on the back of a Navy defender before scampering into the end zone. True to form, he remained humble amid all the talk.
“I don’t go out there and do anything on my own,” Love said. “I think of the Heisman buzz as a credit to how good this team is.”
Finishing strong
In the final three games of the season, Love bolstered his Heisman case, setting program records and helping his team finish the year on a 10-game win streak. ‘College GameDay’ made the trip for a top 25 matchup at Pittsburgh, undoubtedly Notre Dame’s toughest remaining test. Love set the tone from the jump with a 56-yard touchdown run to open the scoring. He went on to tally 147 yards in a statement 37-15 victory for the Irish. A week later, he tied Jerome Bettis’ record for most touchdowns in a single season (20), finding the end zone three times in a resounding 70-7 win over Syracuse. He would eclipse the record in the regular season finale, scoring his 21st touchdown of the year against Stanford. Notre Dame dismantled its longtime rivals 49-20 to cap off a 10-2 season.
“You talk about a team that is probably playing as well as anyone right now, have won 10 straight games in a row, I think all of them by double-digit points, and you want the 12 best teams now,” Freeman said after the win. “It’s hard to argue we’re not one of those teams.”
Falling short
Heading into conference championship weekend, the Irish fell to No. 10 in the penultimate College Football Playoff rankings, with Alabama taking over at No. 9. All Marcus Freeman and his team could do was sit back and hope that they would stay there. But despite neither Notre Dame nor No. 12 Miami playing over the weekend, Miami earned the final spot in the 12-team field. Shocking would be an understatement.
“My feelings and the feelings here are just shock and, really, an absolute sense of sadness for our student-athletes,” athletic director Pete Bevacqua said after the rankings reveal on Sunday. “Overwhelming shock and sadness. Like a collective feeling that we were all just punched in the stomach.”
One day later, Love was announced as one of four Heisman finalists, a minor consolation after the season’s abrupt end. He would finish third in voting, behind Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia and Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza, who brought home the award.
Despite losing the superstar running back and his partner in crime, Jadarian Price, the Irish will reload on offense next season. Carr will have the keys behind one of the best offensive lines in the country and a talented group of pass-catchers, strengthened by transfer portal additions Quincy Porter and Mylan Graham. The defense also returns a large majority of talent, including captains Drayk Bowen and Adon Shuler, as well as star cornerback Leonard Moore. Interior defensive line was the biggest question mark on that side of the ball until Francis Brewu and Tionne Gray joined via the portal. The combination of new and returning talent will have Notre Dame in the inner circle of contenders.
Based on preseason projections, the Irish will face their most difficult matchups later in the season, including at BYU in mid-October, a rematch with Miami in early November and SMU in the penultimate game. With more manageable games under their belt, they should be playing their best football by then. Hungry to prove last season was a mistake, the message for Freeman’s team will be clear: “Leave no doubt.”
