We look ahead to Notre Dame's 2026 season by providing you with way too early opponent previews and predictions.

With the 2025 College Football season officially under wraps, we look ahead to Notre Dame's 2026 season with an early look at six of the Irish's opponents.

Notre Dame entered the portal needing to secure at least two DTs, and landing the #3 and #7 transfer DL certainly addresses that issue. Tionne Gray is young and still has some development ahead of him with great potential. He could compete for a starting spot, but regardless, he should be heavily featured in a solid-looking interior DL group consisting of Francis Brewu, Armel Mukam, Elijah Hughes, Christopher Burgess, and Cole Mullins.

Marcus Freeman released a statement on the recent allegations that were brought against him earlier this week.

Former Ohio State WR Mylan Graham has announced his decision to transfer to Notre Dame. The 6-1, 195-pound wideout is rated as the #35 WR and #128 overall transfer, according to 247 Sports. Graham joins the Fighting Irish following his January 7-8th visit to South Bend.

Keon Keeley entered the transfer portal on January 4th, rated as the #8 edge and #46 overall prospect (247 Sports). Following a January 7th visit to South Bend, the 6-5 and 282-pounder transferred to Notre Dame with two years of eligibility.

At 11:46 a.m. EST on Thursday, former New Mexico State DL Ezra Christensen announced on X that he had received an offer from Notre Dame. Christensen is ranked as the No. 25 defensive lineman in the Transfer Portal by 247Sports and checks in at No. 338 overall.

After a bit of a slow start in the transfer portal, Notre Dame is still in the running for some top portal targets, but they will still need to find a boundary wide receiver after the commitments of Nick Marsh and Ian Strong.

The USC Trojans have been and continue to be one of the biggest perpetrators of this new era. After effectively destroying the Pac-12 and leaving Washington State and Oregon State out to dry, the Trojans have now successfully put a halt to the iconic Notre Dame-USC rivalry.

Following Notre Dame’s decision to opt out of a bowl game after being snubbed from the CFP, the Irish’s offseason has begun a bit earlier than everyone would have hoped. Ideally, Marcus Freeman and staff are using this extra free time to scour the ever-growing transfer portal.

From the moment the College Football Playoff committee announced at roughly 12:30 PM EST on Sunday, December 7th, that Notre Dame would not be included in the 12-team playoff field, the national conversation shifted—and it didn't shift away. It shifted entirely toward Notre Dame.

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.

For the first time since 2012, Notre Dame will be represented at the Heisman Trophy presentation in New York City following RB Jeremiyah Love’s selection as a finalist for the most prestigious honor in college football.

The College Football Committee has released the newest installment of the CFP rankings just days before the conference championships are set to be played and Selection Sunday. Notre Dame saw itself drop one spot to No. 10, prompting many to consider a reality where Notre Dame is left out. Here, we'll break down the rankings and the possible results that see Notre Dame making it or being left out of the field.

After beginning the season with back-to-back losses, it was easy to consider Notre Dame’s year over by mid-September. Two and a half months later, the Irish have rattled off ten straight victories and have forced the CFP Committee to strongly consider Marcus Freeman’s squad for the playoffs. So, how did they turn this seemingly sinking ship around?

With Syracuse on a six-game skid, they have turned to walk-on freshman QB Joseph Filardi in an attempt to pull off the unthinkable. While Filardi likely does not have enough to single-handedly topple the Irish, we list three players who will need to perform well to give the Orange any chance this weekend.

This Saturday afternoon, Notre Dame Football will celebrate its seniors prior to the matchup with Syracuse. We highlight the key contributors of this class leaving South Bend who are set to be commemorated before their final regular season game at Notre Dame Stadium.

Irish RB Jeremiyah Love, a potential Heisman candidate, could be tasked with his biggest test since last season’s National Championship against Ohio State. While Pitt’s secondary has been prone to mistakes, their run defense is among the best in the country, with good run-stoppers at nearly every level. The Panthers’ ability to limit opposing teams' top rushers has no doubt been a factor in their current five-game winning streak.

Seven days after not being asked to do much against Navy’s heavy-run attack, Notre Dame's middling pass defense will be tasked with a challenge this week against Pitt’s pass-heavy offense. Following back-to-back early-season losses, the Panthers benched second-year starting QB Eli Holstein in favor of freshman Mason Heintschel. Since the move, both the offense and wins have picked up with Pitt entering this weekend 5-0 with Heintschel leading the way.

For the first time since 2021, the Navy and Notre Dame rivalry returns to South Bend on Saturday evening. The 10th-ranked Irish welcome a 7-1 Midshipmen squad coming off their first loss of the season. We provide an offensive overview of Navy amidst their hot start: