While Notre Dame came up short in the National Championship against Ohio State last season, the Irish enjoyed by far their most success to date in the College Football Playoff. Previously 0-2 in CFP games under Brian Kelly, Marcus Freeman helped the Irish rip off three CFP wins, until they ran into the Buckeyes.
Notre Dame enters 2025 ranked No. 6 in the Preseason AP Poll, and would have to have a pretty disappointing season to fall short of another CFP appearance. The Irish have a front loaded schedule, opening things up with a primetime Sunday night game at Miami. ND is favored by less than a field goal on the road in that one, however, it’s the only game this season that it isn’t favored by at least a touchdown in.
The second toughest task for the Irish actually comes in their second game. Notre Dame is priced as a seven-point home favorite over Texas A&M, but it gets that game in South Bend coming off a bye following the Miami game. That sets up plenty of prep time for the two toughest opponents of the season.
After the September 13 matchup with the Aggies, the Irish are double digit favorites the rest of the way out. Notable home games include Boise State (-16.5) and USC (-10.5), while the toughest road game shapes up at Arkansas (-10.5). Notre Dame would have to lose three games to be in consideration to hold it out of the CFP, which feels like a lot of slip ups for this team.
Freeman has proven to be a solid coach, and he returns seven starters on each side of the ball from his roster that reached the Natty. While the quarterback position remains the big question mark, this team is built to win by pounding the rock and playing defense. Both top running backs return in Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price, which ranks only behind Penn State in Phil Steele’s position rankings. Steele ranks the Irish’s offensive line at third in the nation.
The defense is even more impressive, ranking in the top-five nationally at each level. According to Steele, Notre Dame’s position groups rank fourth on the defensive line, third at linebacker and tops in the country in the secondary. While the Irish have had some inexplicable losses over the years, I don’t see them dropping three or more games in the regular season. They’re a wager, even with some juice, to land back in the CFP.
CFB Pick: Notre Dame to Make CFP: YES (-180) 1.5-units
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