Notre Dame enters 2026 with the kind of offensive setup that turns expectations into pressure. The Irish are being talked about as national title contenders, CJ Carr is back as the first returning starting quarterback the program has had since 2020, and he’s doing it as a preseason Heisman Trophy favorite. On top of that, Marcus Freeman gets all three coordinators back for the first time in his tenure, with Mike Denbrock coming off a 2025 season that rewrote the record book.
That record-setting attack set a high bar. Notre Dame averaged 42.0 points per game, the best mark in modern program history, and finished with 7.3 yards per play, breaking the previous standard set by a Denbrock offense in 2015.
Carr also set the program record for passer efficiency rating. The problem is that the Irish now have to chase those numbers without a long list of proven stars who helped create them.
Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price both went in the first round of this year’s NFL Draft, and Notre Dame also lost three of its four leading pass catchers from 2025 along with a starting offensive lineman who was one of the team captains. That kind of turnover would normally force a reset. Instead, the feeling around this group is confidence - but only if a few new names take real steps forward.
Carr is the obvious headliner. In his redshirt freshman season, he threw for 2,741 yards, 24 touchdowns and six interceptions, added three rushing touchdowns and completed 66.6% of his passes.
The production was strong, but the next jump matters even more now that Love and Price are gone. Notre Dame needs Carr to be the engine, not just the quarterback.
Aneyas Williams looks like the next back up in South Bend, and he’s in position for the kind of breakout that has become a familiar story for Notre Dame backs over the last decade. He’s already shown up in big moments over the last two seasons. Now he gets the chance to own the backfield.
The receiver room has its own wave of candidates. Seniors Jordan Faison and Jaden Greathouse are back, and they’re joined by a group that has plenty of upside: Cam Williams, Micah Gilbert, Elijah Burress, Quincy Porter and Mylan Graham. Porter and Graham arrived from Ohio State, and the room is deep enough that multiple players could break out rather than the burden falling on just one or two.
Up front, Joe Rudolph’s line is also expected to carry a lot of weight. Center Ashton Craig is back healthy for his fifth year.
Anthonie Knapp, who has 27 career starts, has moved inside to guard. Guerby Lambert, with 12 career starts, shifts to right tackle, where he projects best.
Sullivan Absher is stepping in at right guard, and former five-star recruit Will Black is taking over at left tackle.
There’s breakout potential all over that unit. If Craig stays healthy for 15 to 16 games, that alone would qualify.
Knapp has a chance to become a household name. Lambert could rise on a national stage.
Black has Freshman All-American type upside. For Notre Dame to match last season’s success after all those NFL departures, this line will need to play like a Joe Moore Award contender.
That’s the bigger picture for the Irish offense: the ceiling is obvious, but reaching it depends on more than Carr alone. Notre Dame does not need every one of these players to explode. It does need enough of them to do it - especially Carr and the offensive line - if the goal is really a national championship run.
In Other News...
Notre Dame Fans Have A Real Reason To Worry About Sullivan Absher
Sullivan Abshers path at Notre Dame has already taken a few turns, and each one matters for an offensive line trying to stay settled. He closed the 2025 season as the starting left guard after Billy Schrauth went down, then shifted over to right guard in the spring while still holding onto a first-team spot in practice.
The problem for the Irish is that a first-team label in April does not guarantee much by August, especially with Matty Augustine and Charles Jagusah in the mix for playing time. Absher has drawn a range of analyst views heading into 2026, which only adds to the sense that his hold on a starting job is real but hardly secure. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame Is Gaining Real Traction With A California Linebacker
Notre Dame has started to make a real impression on Julian Bruno, a three-star linebacker from Grant Union High School in Sacramento, Calif., after extending an offer to the rising prospect. The opportunity came from new linebackers coach Brian Jean-Mary, and Bruno has already shown plenty of interest as the Irish continue to work on him alongside a growing list of other programs.
Bruno is now looking to take the next step in the process by visiting South Bend and getting a closer feel for the program and the people around it. For Notre Dame, that kind of traction matters, especially with a California defender who is still early enough in his recruitment for relationships and visits to shape where this one goes next. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dames Receiver Future Suddenly Feels Tied To Quincy Porter
Quincy Porters move to Notre Dame already gave the Irish another intriguing name to watch in the receiver room, but his arrival also came with some uncertainty after he missed spring practice while recovering from a left patella injury. The former Ohio State wideout was a highly regarded recruit and showed enough in high school to make his next step a meaningful one, even if his freshman year in Columbus was mostly a brief introduction to college football.
Now the focus shifts to what Porter can become once he is fully back on the field, especially with Notre Dame looking to sort out its boundary receiver options. He joins a group that includes former Buckeye teammate Mylan Graham, and the competition for that role should be one of the more interesting position battles to follow as the Irish try to replace what was left open there. [Read more 🡒]