Notre Dame's New Year's Resolutions
- Liam Farrell
- 12 hours ago
- 4 min read
With the College Football Playoff snub and a slow-moving transfer portal operation, there are plenty of items on Notre Dame fans' New Year's Resolutions.
Photo by Tyler Wong
It has been a very emotional month in the Notre Dame football program with a CFP snub, Marcus Freeman's dangling interest in the NFL, and a quiet transfer portal acquisition period.
Outside of Freeman's short, but sweet tweet, not many things have gone in the Irish's way since the fateful Selection Sunday.
However, in theory, a New Year turns a new leaf, yet Notre Dame hasn't added a single player in the transfer portal, while seeing 19 players leave the program through the portal. While the Fighting Irish have always said they want to major in high school recruiting while minoring in the portal, right now the Irish have an incomplete on their transcript.
It isn't for a lack of trying on general manager Mike Martin's efforts as the Irish have had many prospects visit campus, yet they haven't gotten a pledge yet. Notre Dame will surely cash in, and fans simply have to be patient. As agonizing as that may seem, especially when programs such as Indiana and Texas Tech are spending ludicrous amounts of money, the time will come for the Irish.
Until then, and to distract people from the lack of acquisitions in the portal, I've devised a football-centric New Year's Resolution list for the 2026 season.
Back-to-Back Heisman Finalists
Last season, Jeremiyah Love was the most entertaining player in college football. With his combination of size, speed, and his ability to catch and block out of the backfield, Love was named last year's Golden Domer of the Year.
While Love made the decision to forego his senior season and enter his name in the NFL draft, the Irish offense could have an entirely new identity next season highlighting standout quarterback CJ Carr. Carr will be the first returning starter Freeman has had in his tenure at Notre Dame, and he is looking to build off his strong redshirt freshman season.
Last year, Carr finished with 2,741 passing yards, 24 touchdowns, and six interceptions. While the receiving corps for next season is still incomplete, Carr is returning his leading receiver in Jordan Faison, along with 2024 playoff-standout Jaden Greathouse looking to get back into the mix for the Irish.
Mike Denbrock's offense will have to evolve, and its evolution is centered around one of the most talented quarterbacks in the nation. Carr will look to be Notre Dame's first 3,000+ passing yards quarterback since Jack Coan in 2021.
Attempting to Replace Love and Price
Speaking of Jeremiyah Love, he will be impossible to replace. If Jadarian Price stayed for one more season, that would've certainly been an easier transition, yet Price will be joining Love in the 2026 NFL Draft.
In a statistical sense, with Love and Price gone, Notre Dame has to replace 312 carries, 2,046 rushing yards, and 36 total touchdowns.
Luckily the Irish have some experience coming back as Aneyas Williams projects to be Notre Dame's top running back followed by Nolan James. Kedren Young is an interesting player to watch as he is recovering from a torn ACL during fall camp a year ago. Young was a touchdown scorer against Navy in 2024 and presents a more bruising running back that can run between the tackles.
While no one can match the electric ability of Love or Price, the Irish are also getting two solid options from the 2026 high school recruiting class. Jonaz Walton and Javion Osbourne are both names to watch to make an impact during their freshman years.
Running the Regular Season Table
Last year, Notre Dame put their fate in the hands of the committee, which ultimately led to them being the first team on the outside looking in for the College Football Playoff. While that may be flawed, Notre Dame couldn't afford to lose two games last season and leave their national championship chances in the hands of, according to Notre Dame professor Jeff Speaks, incompetent and corrupt officials.
If you were to look at next season's schedule, there are no massive roadblocks that can mirror the first two games of last season's schedule. To put it lightly, it is not strong at all, and if Notre Dame couldn't make the CFP with two losses to two CFP teams by a combined four points, then the Irish can never make the playoff with two losses on their schedule.
The good news about that is that next season, the Irish would have no realistic chance to win a national championship if they lost two games next year. While the addition of BYU is nice, because of the fact Notre Dame is replacing a lackluster USC team that is scared to add a yearly loss to their schedule, the ACC is just so weak. The Miami game will be one to definitely circle on the calendar, but outside of that matchup against the Hurricanes, there isn't much that scares you if you are Notre Dame.
Yes, Marcus Freeman has had three embarrassing losses to significantly lesser opponents during his tenure, but the reality of the situation is that Notre Dame can likely go 12-0 next season.
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