(Photo: Joe Weiser)
Notre Dame didn’t quite crack the top three in the preseason AP Poll, but the voting suggests the Irish aren’t far from it.
Notre Dame opens the 2026 season ranked No. 4, receiving six first-place votes and 1,510 points. That’s just three points behind No. 3 Georgia and puts the Irish firmly among the small group of teams voters believe can win the national championship.
Ohio State begins the season at No. 1, followed by Oregon and Georgia. Texas rounds out the top five, 27 points behind Notre Dame.
For the Irish, the significance isn’t the number next to their name. It’s the expectation that comes with it.
Notre Dame enters the season with a Heisman Trophy contender at quarterback in CJ Carr, an offense with the potential to be among the nation’s best and a defense loaded with experienced talent. After a strong offseason and fall camp, there are few questions about whether Notre Dame has enough talent to contend.
The question is whether the Irish can turn that talent into a championship.
The schedule will provide opportunities to find out.
Three Notre Dame opponents are ranked in the preseason Top 25: No. 14 BYU, No. 7 Miami and No. 19 SMU. The Irish travel to Provo to face BYU on Oct. 17 before hosting Miami on Nov. 7 and SMU on Nov. 21.
The Miami game figures to carry particular weight after last season’s loss to the Hurricanes, while the trip to BYU gives Notre Dame a difficult road test in the middle of the season.
But a team ranked No. 4 isn’t entering the season hoping to establish that it belongs in the national conversation. Notre Dame is already there.
That’s the difference surrounding the Irish in 2026.
The goal isn’t simply another College Football Playoff appearance or another season among the nation’s best teams. Notre Dame enters September with legitimate national championship expectations and will be judged accordingly.
Preseason rankings won’t determine whether the Irish meet those expectations. What happens beginning Sept. 6 against Wisconsin at Lambeau Field will.
For Notre Dame, that’s when No. 4 stops being a ranking and starts becoming something the Irish have to live up to.