One of the biggest what-ifs hanging over Notre Dame’s 2026 season is simple: if the defense had come around a little sooner, the Fighting Irish might have had enough juice to reach the College Football Playoff. Second-year defensive coordinator Chris Ash said the lag came down, at least in part, to not knowing his group well enough early on.
Now, after a full season, a second spring and plenty of film study, Ash says that gap has closed. For him, the job is much more specific now.
“ I know what they need, and last year I didn’t,” Ash told Rivals’ Tyler Horka. “This year I know what each individual needs from a coaching standpoint, what we need to focus on and make sure we emphasize."
That same sense of hindsight also shows up in the recruiting conversation around Notre Dame’s quarterback room. Former offensive coordinator Tommy Rees played a bigger part in landing CJ Carr than some Irish fans may want to acknowledge, but 247Sports analyst Tom Loy added a wrinkle that stands out: if Carr had gone elsewhere, Notre Dame still would have ended up with a major quarterback commitment in Julian Sayin. Sayin is now Ohio State’s starting quarterback.
On the recruiting front, Notre Dame also has a chance to add another major name on Monday. Darieon Prescott is set to make his decision, and Marcus Freeman and his staff are positioned to potentially beat Dan Lanning and Oregon for one of the best defensive linemen in the 2028 class. The Irish appear to be in strong shape there, and it would mark the second time in seven days they’ve gone head-to-head with the Ducks and come out on top for an elite defender.
There’s also movement in the 2027 women’s basketball recruiting picture. Nation Williams, a five-star prospect, has trimmed her list to five schools and lined up four more visits.
She has already taken an official visit to Iowa, and North Carolina, Duke, UCLA and Notre Dame are still in the mix to host her. If Niele Ivey gets Williams to South Bend, the Irish will have a real shot to make a lasting impression.
Elsewhere in the college sports world, Arizona State is now offering a Bachelor of Arts in Social Media, which is exactly the kind of news that makes the internet feel like it’s already gone too far.
In the NFL, the Baltimore Ravens waived undrafted rookie quarterback Diego Pavia just days before training camp in order to make room for veteran center Ethan Pocic on the 90-man roster. Pavia, last year’s Heisman Trophy runner-up, had been in the mix for the Ravens’ No. 3 quarterback job during spring work. That battle now comes down to veteran Skylar Thompson, who impressed during minicamp, and undrafted rookie Joe Fagnano from Connecticut.
And in another NIL flashpoint, LSU’s Lane Kiffin is pushing for a “rookie cap” for high school recruits. “The kids that haven’t played at all coming out of high school should be making less. … There should be a freshman or rookie cap, and then max slots per position that they make."
Finally, Notre Dame’s future schedule may not be as secure as it once looked. The Irish and Texas have already worked out a deal for future games, but Longhorns coach Steve Sarkisian said at SEC Media Days that those matchups could still be pulled back depending on how the College Football Playoff committee values strength of schedule.
“I don’t know yet about Notre Dame. We’ll see, because I think the (CFP selection) committee has to show us what happens now and what’s the value that they’re placing on strength of schedule and are we going to let a 9-3 team in as an at-large?
We’ll find out, and I think this year will be a great test of what that looks like.”
In Other News...
Notre Dame Just Got A Massive CJ Carr Statement
A strong 2025 stretch was enough to put CJ Carr on a different kind of radar heading into next season. The Athletic slotted the Notre Dame quarterback into its top tier for 2026, the sort of placement that usually comes with Heisman chatter and a lot more attention than a young starter typically gets this early in his climb. Carr already gave the Irish a glimpse of why the buzz is real, helping spark a comeback at Miami and then following it with a sharp showing against Texas A&M.
Now the pressure shifts from promising moments to full-time responsibility. With Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price gone, Carr is expected to be the center of Notre Dames offense in 2026, and the ceiling is obvious enough to explain the ranking. The question is whether he can clean up the rough edges in his game, especially the decision-making and accuracy issues that still need work, and turn that talent into the kind of week-to-week production the Irish will need when the schedule tightens. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame Coaches Who Left The Deepest Scars On USC And Army
Notre Dames rivalry history is often told through the men who had to live inside it, and few coaches left a bigger imprint on USC than Lou Holtz, Brian Kelly and Frank Leahy. Holtz went 9-1-1 against the Trojans and did not suffer a loss to USC until his final season in South Bend, Kelly finished 8-3 against a rival many Irish fans never fully embraced him for, and Leahys 8-1-1 mark helped define one of the most dominant stretches in program history.
Those records matter because they are more than footnotes in a media guide. They are the kind of numbers Notre Dame people remember when the schedule turns to the old powers, and they also explain why the schools coaching legacy is so tightly bound to rivalry results. Rocknes place in that conversation is just as secure, even if his most famous battles came against a different foe, because the standard at Notre Dame has always been measured in how often a coach could win the games that still carry the most weight. [Read more 🡒]
Notre Dame Defense Faces One Frustrating Year Two Question
The broad shape of Notre Dames defense last season was easy enough to trace: a shaky opening stretch, then a group that settled in and played much better as the year went on. The improvement was real, but it also left behind a familiar offseason question for a unit built to win with speed and physicality. Under coordinator Chris Ash, the defense is still sorting out how aggressive it wants to be, especially when the game situation calls for a stop and the front seven has a chance to tilt the field.
The frustration comes in the details. Notre Dame still has to be tighter on third downs, and the coverage structure has to do a better job of taking away easy answers before opponents can get comfortable. Ashs approach leans more heavily on zone than the previous setup, which puts even more pressure on the backs to disrupt routes and on the linebackers to help the rush arrive on time. If the Irish want the next step from a defense that already showed it can rebound, this is the part that has to sharpen up. [Read more 🡒]