Kirk Herbstreit is buying into Notre Dame as a real national title threat heading into the 2026 college football season.
Appearing on “The Pat McAfee Show,” Herbstreit didn’t dance around the question when asked for his top pick. He went straight to the Fighting Irish.
“I’m going Notre Dame. … [quarterback] CJ [Carr] is the real deal,” Herbstreit said. “I like Notre Dame.”
He added, "I like Notre Dame and Miami..
I think Texas A&M could make a run with Marcel Reed this year" ~ @KirkHerbstreit #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/iaREizIxoW
- Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) July 22, 2026
That kind of endorsement lines up with the way Notre Dame is being viewed around the sport. The Irish are coming off a season in which they fell short of a national title in 2024 and missed the playoff field, but this year’s path looks much more favorable. Their postseason fate is largely in their own hands, and the expectation now is that they can get back in.
On paper, the numbers are strong. ESPN’s Football Power Index has Notre Dame sitting third, and the Irish own the best odds in the country to run the regular season table at 32.7 percent.
They also have a 74.4 percent shot at making the College Football Playoff, which is second only to Ohio State. ESPN’s FPI also places Notre Dame third in both national championship game appearance probability and national title odds.
The schedule gives Notre Dame a real opening, but the Irish still have to cash it in. Championships are not handed out in July projections, and the team will need to handle the actual grind of the season to turn that preseason respect into something bigger.
Marcus Freeman’s group should be favored against most of what it sees, and the roster still has important pieces from the team’s last deep playoff run. The biggest tests on the schedule may come against Georgia, Indiana and Ohio State, the programs that match Notre Dame most closely in talent and coaching.
Notre Dame is also trying to follow Indiana’s lead and bring another national championship to the state. The Fighting Irish beat Indiana at home during the 2024 CFP before losing to Ohio State in the title game.
Now, with Herbstreit publicly backing them and the metrics pointing their way, Notre Dame enters the season with major expectations. The only question left is whether the Irish can turn that hype into another playoff run in 2026.
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