Fighting Irish Open 2026 Season as Top-Five Hopefuls
Notre Dame checked in at No. 5 in the 2026 AFCA Preseason Coaches Poll—matching last season’s debut under Marcus Freeman and marking the program’s third top-five launch in the College Football Playoff era. The Fighting Irish face a moderately tough slate with three preseason top-20 opponents: No. 7 Miami, No. 15 BYU, and No. 20 SMU. Historically, the poll has occasionally forecast national champions—Alabama in 2017 began at No. 1—though recent title winners like Indiana in 2024 stunned everyone by starting at No. 19. Contributor Nick Shepkowski concedes that preseason rankings often spark excitement but ultimately predict very little, pointing to Texas’s fall from preseason No. 1 in 2025 and Penn State’s collapse after a No. 3 start in 2024 as prime examples.
Nothing says “let’s get excited for September” quite like coaches convening in a sterile hotel ballroom to stick pins on a giant heat map of hot takes. Notre Dame fans will no doubt parade that No. 5 ranking like it’s a football ritual, while the rest of us wonder if someone Googled “top teams” and called it a day. Meanwhile, Marcus Freeman is probably still searching for the magic crystal ball that turns preseason hype into actual touchdowns. But hey, why let reality ruin a perfectly good parade of color-coded graphics and overcaffeinated commentary?
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