Kirk Herbstreit is betting big on Notre Dame, and he’s doing it in a way that leaves Ohio State wide receiver Jeremiah Smith on the outside looking in.
On The Pat McAfee Show, the ESPN and College GameDay analyst made it clear he’s backing Fighting Irish quarterback CJ Carr to win the Heisman Trophy and Notre Dame to finish the job with a national championship. Herbstreit didn’t sound interested in the usual preseason caution that comes with picking the favorite.
"They are going to walk, at least, into the playoff, and that guy right there is going to win the Heisman Trophy," Herbstreit said. "So, I'm all in on Notre Dame this year.
I think this is the year. They've recruited well.
They've got experience at receiver... this is a very talented team."
Carr is the current favorite at FanDuel Sportsbook, and the case for him is easy to see. In his first season as the Irish starter, he threw for 2,741 yards, 24 touchdowns and six interceptions while leading Notre Dame to a 10-2 record.
Still, the Heisman conversation always comes with a warning label: the preseason favorite doesn’t often finish with the trophy. That’s part of what makes Herbstreit’s pick stand out. He’s not just choosing Carr for the award - he’s attaching that prediction to a full-blown Notre Dame run.
That means a lot is riding on a program that has already spent recent seasons knocking on the door. Notre Dame played for the national championship during the 2024 season before losing to Ohio State, then made it back to the playoff last season.
Herbstreit’s confidence appears to come from more than just Carr’s arm. He pointed to Notre Dame’s recruiting and the experience it has at receiver as signs the roster is built for more than a decent year.
If Carr keeps moving forward, Notre Dame could have the quarterback play it needs to push deep into the playoff. And if Herbstreit is right about the Irish reaching that stage, Carr would have the kind of spotlight that turns Heisman buzz into a real trophy chase.
So the bet is pretty simple: Carr as the best player in the country, Notre Dame as the last team standing. If Herbstreit nails both, the Irish would be in the middle of one of the biggest seasons in program history.
In Other News...
Notre Dame Helped Spark A Fight LSU Is Daring To Ignore
Notre Dame is part of a growing front against a new loophole in college sports, joining the Big Ten and SEC in voting to block NFL players from jumping into college football programs. The move came as conferences try to draw a line around the increasingly messy overlap between pro and college eligibility, with the NFL responding by saying players who leave the league for college football will not be able to sign with any team in the 2026 season.
LSU, though, is taking a far different approach and has openly kept recruiting former NFL players for both football and basketball. The list includes tight end Dae'Quan Wright, defensive lineman Zxavian Harris and guard RJ Luis Jr., who already won a preliminary injunction to play for LSUs basketball team in the 2026-27 season, setting up a challenge to the very restrictions Notre Dame helped push into place. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame's Right Guard Battle Just Took An Unexpected Turn
Notre Dames offensive line picture is still taking shape, and one of the more interesting developments has come at right guard. Joe Rudolph is considering moving Styles Prescod, who arrived at training camp as a backup tackle, into the interior mix, a shift that speaks to how fluid the competition remains up front. Offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock said the job is open, and Prescod has become part of the evaluation after turning heads in an August scrimmage.
For Prescod, the opportunity marks a notable change after limited playing time in earlier seasons because of injury. Instead of simply providing tackle depth, he is now being looked at as a real candidate to win a starting spot, which says plenty about both his recent work and the uncertainty around the guard race. For Notre Dame, the next few practices could help clarify whether this is a temporary experiment or a legitimate solution on a line still sorting out its best five. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dames Running Back Battle Just Got More Crowded Than Expected
Notre Dames backfield is shaping up to be one of the more interesting position battles to watch as the roster continues to take shape for 2026. Offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock has already singled out freshmen Jonaz Walton and Javian Osborne as players who could factor into the rotation, which only adds to the intrigue around a group that already includes Aneyas Williams and Nolan James. With no clear depth chart set yet, the Irish appear to have real competition brewing for carries.
Osborne arrives with the kind of high school rsum that suggests he can contribute sooner rather than later, while Walton is also pushing to carve out a role in what looks like a deep room. For Notre Dame, the bigger picture is straightforward: the staff has options, and plenty of them, but sorting out who emerges will be one of the early challenges of shaping the offense. The only question now is how quickly that competition turns into a pecking order. [Read more 🡒]