On Tuesday, the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) announced its 2025-26 regular season award winners and, once again, Notre Dame’s Hannah Hidalgo stole the show after earning her second ACC Player of the Year and third ACC Defensive Player of the Year awards.

Notre Dame has secured a key piece for its defensive line rebuild, landing former Pitt defensive tackle Francis Brewu via the transfer portal on January X, 2026. The 6-2, 280-pound sophomore announced his commitment to the Fighting Irish, reuniting with new defensive line coach Charlie Partridge, who originally recruited him out of high school to the Panthers.

Notre Dame is still the talk of the sporting world following the controversial decision by the committee to leave the Irish out of the CFP. Since then, Notre Dame Athletic Director Pete Bevacqua has done the media rounds and a press conference to tell Notre Dame's side of the story.

The nightmare scenario happened. Notre Dame was left out of the College Football Playoff in favor of Alabama and Miami. The result isn't what anyone associated with Notre Dame wanted, but the Irish were never truly in control of their own destiny. The issue? Their once-thought allies became one of the very elements campaigning against them. Let's take a look at the how and why. Photo by Arav Patel Following the loss to Texas A&M, Notre Dame needed a lot of help to get into th