A Notre Dame-Oregon national title game in Las Vegas on Jan. 25 is starting to look like more than just a fun preseason idea.
The two programs stand out in ESPN analyst Bill Connelly’s preseason SP+ rankings, which put Oregon No. 2 in the country behind only Ohio State and Notre Dame at No. 3. That’s a narrow enough gap to suggest both teams enter 2026 with legitimate paths to the top, and both sit ahead of every other likely challenger outside Columbus.
Notre Dame’s case starts with Marcus Freeman and quarterback CJ Carr. Carr is coming off his first full season as a starter and is expected to take a big step forward, while the Irish also bring back what is viewed as the deepest roster South Bend has put together in years.
Oregon has its own major advantage in Dan Lanning’s decision to keep Dante Moore in Eugene for a fifth-year season rather than head to the NFL Draft. That move gives the Ducks one of the more battle-tested passers in the country, and he’ll be working behind a defense that returns its entire starting line.
There’s also a clean storyline at the top: neither Freeman nor Lanning has won a national championship. A matchup between Notre Dame and Oregon would put two coaches chasing the same breakthrough on the sport’s biggest stage.
The two programs have been moving toward this moment for a while. Oregon has climbed deeper into the playoff picture over the last couple of seasons, going from missing the field in 2023 to reaching the semifinals in 2025. Notre Dame, meanwhile, was left out of last season’s playoff despite a resume that many around the national media believed was good enough to get in, and that snub has helped fuel the unusually high expectations around the Irish this fall.
Still, nothing is locked in. Oregon has a major test on its schedule with Ohio State coming up on Nov. 7, and Notre Dame’s ceiling will hinge heavily on Carr’s growth and on a defense that struggled against its best opponents.
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Jaylen Sneed Just Changed Notre Dames Defensive Ceiling
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What makes his return matter is not just the experience he brings back, but the way it fits into a defense trying to keep building on continuity. Sneed has been part of the teams peer-coaching culture and continues to sharpen his game under the staffs guidance, which only adds to the sense that his ceiling is still climbing. For Notre Dame, that means one more veteran piece in a room where leadership and development could end up shaping how far this group can go. [Read more 🡒]