(Photo Credit: Chad Ryan)

From the No. 1 playoff seed to a trip to Las Vegas, here are five bold predictions for what could be a special 2026 season.

Every year about this time, I stick my neck out with a few predictions about the upcoming Notre Dame season. Some have aged pretty well. Others…not so much.

That’s the fun of prediction columns.

A bold prediction shouldn’t be obvious, but it also shouldn’t be fantasy. It should make readers stop for a moment and think, “I hadn’t considered that…but I can see it happening.”

With that in mind, here are my five bold predictions for Notre Dame’s 2026 season, followed by one final prediction that ties them all together.

Prediction No. 1

Notre Dame Earns the No. 1 Seed in the College Football Playoff

The playoff committee won’t have to debate who belongs at the top.

This isn’t a prediction that Notre Dame merely makes the playoff or hosts a first-round game.

I’m predicting the Irish earn the No. 1 seed.

That is the standard for this football team.

In my last column, I wrote that if Notre Dame wants to win a national championship, it must leave no doubt. That philosophy applies just as much to the regular season as it does the playoff.

Notre Dame has an experienced quarterback, one of the nation’s deepest defenses, an outstanding coaching staff, and enough talent across the roster to earn the No. 1 seed.

And, the schedule is navigable. That’s not the same as saying it’s easy. Every road game presents challenges, and there are several teams capable of pulling an upset. But if this Notre Dame team is as good as I believe it is, there isn’t a game on the schedule it shouldn’t expect to win. In fact I’d wager that the Irish will be favored to win every game and most of them by double digits.

If the Irish avoid the upset that has tripped up talented Notre Dame teams in the past, they’ll control their own destiny from opening weekend through the regular season. By December, the conversation won’t be whether Notre Dame belongs in the playoff. It’ll be whether anyone deserves the No. 1 seed more than the Irish.

Leave no doubt.

Prediction No. 2

CJ Carr Finishes in New York…and So Does Leonard Moore

Notre Dame won’t have one Heisman finalist. It’ll have two.

The Heisman Trophy is still an individual award, but the best way to get invited to New York is to quarterback one of the nation’s best teams.

If CJ Carr leads one of the two or three best teams in America, he’ll become one of the faces of college football. Carr doesn’t need to throw for 5,000 yards or account for six touchdowns every Saturday. He simply needs to do what the best quarterbacks always do: elevate the players around him, make winning plays in the biggest moments, and lead a championship contender.

The stage will be there. The opportunities will be there.

But here’s the bolder part of this prediction: I think Leonard Moore will be there, too.

Notre Dame fans already know Moore is the premier shutdown corner in college football. By the end of the 2026 season, the rest of the country will know it, too.

The problem for cornerbacks has always been visibility. The best ones often don’t pile up interceptions because opposing quarterbacks simply refuse to throw their way. But the Heisman Trophy has trended toward become a bit more about identifying the most outstanding players in college football, regardless of position.

Moore will erase one side of the field, frustrate opposing offensive coordinators and still make enough game-changing plays that voters can’t ignore him. And if he picks off a boatload of passes, which he just might do to go along with the expected overall success of the defense, Notre Dame won’t have just one representative making the trip to New York.

The Irish will have two.

Prediction No. 3

Notre Dame Fields the Nation’s Best Defense

The strength of the 2026 Irish won’t be the offense. It’ll be a defense that opponents spend all week trying to survive.

Marcus Freeman has spent years assembling this defense, stocking it with speed at linebacker, length in the secondary, depth along the defensive line and playmakers at every level.

There isn’t an obvious weakness. The Irish have elite talent on the edge, the premier shutdown corner in college football , experience at linebacker and the kind of depth championship defenses require.

And did I mention safety play? Adon Shuler and Tae Johnson are the best returning duo in the country.

This won’t simply be a defense that wins games. It’ll be one opponents spend all week trying to figure out how to survive.

Whether Notre Dame finishes first nationally in scoring defense, total defense or takeaways almost doesn’t matter. By season’s end, this unit will be widely regarded as the best defense in college football.

Championship teams usually have one defining strength.

For the 2026 Irish, it will be their defense.

Prediction No. 4

Kedren Young Scores Seven Touchdowns…Without Rushing for 500 Yards

The most important running back near the goal line won’t necessarily be the one with the most carries.

Everyone expects Aneyas Williams to become Notre Dame’s featured running back.

I do too.

Williams should lead the Irish backfield in touches because he can do everything. He’ll run between the tackles, catch passes out of the backfield, create mismatches in space and become one of the offense’s most versatile weapons.

But this prediction isn’t about Williams.

It’s about Kedren Young, and almost no one is talking about him.

Every championship offense needs someone who can finish drives. When Notre Dame has first-and-goal at the two-yard line, I don’t think the Irish will get fancy. I think they’ll hand the football to Young.

Young was trending in this direction before an ACL tear ended his 2025 season in August. Now he’s healthy, and I think Irish fans are about to discover just how valuable he can be. At 5-foot-11 and 234 pounds, Young has the size, power and mentality to become Notre Dame’s designated goal-line back.

My prediction is that Young rushes for fewer than 500 yards yet scores seven touchdowns, with most of those coming from inside the five-yard line.

He won’t be the statistical star of the backfield. He’ll simply be the player who turns great drives into seven points.

Prediction No. 5

Two True Freshmen Become Difference-Makers

Championship teams always get unexpected help. This year’s help comes from two freshmen.

Every season, one or two freshmen force their way onto the field sooner than expected.

This year, I think Notre Dame has two of them.

The first is Devin Fitzgerald. Yes, he’ll arrive with one of the most recognizable names in football, but I believe he’ll quickly prove he belongs because of his own talent. By November, I expect Fitzgerald to be more than a rotational receiver. I think he’ll become someone CJ Carr trusts in critical situations.

The second is Rodney Dunham. True freshmen rarely become impact defensive linemen at Notre Dame. Dunham has the physical tools to become the exception. His athleticism and pass-rushing ability are too good to keep off the field for long.

Having watched both during spring practice, I came away convinced they aren’t ordinary freshmen. They looked comfortable, confident and, most importantly, ready for the speed of major college football.

By the end of the season, I expect both to be playing meaningful snaps in meaningful games.

Championship teams aren’t built solely on veteran leadership. They’re also built on young players who mature much faster than expected.

One Final Prediction

If the first five predictions come true, there is only one logical conclusion.

The title game just happens to be in Las Vegas this year, so…

I’ll see you in Las Vegas.

Not because I already have a plane ticket.

Because if Notre Dame earns the No. 1 seed, if CJ Carr and Leonard Moore are in New York, if the defense becomes the nation’s best, if Kedren Young becomes the Irish’s short-yardage hammer, and if Devin Fitzgerald and Rodney Dunham emerge as impact players, Notre Dame won’t just be a playoff team.

It will be playing for the national championship.

And after a 38-year Championship drought, that’s exactly where Irish fans expect this program to be.