We’re inching closer and closer to the start of the 2026 regular season in college football. It’s that time of the offseason where outlets like Athlon Sports and Sporting News start to release their Preseason Top 25 projected rankings. Notre Dame was consistently ranked inside the Top 5 in every major outlet’s post-spring Top 25 rankings. Sporting News has the Fighting Irish at No. 5 in their projected preseason rankings.
The Irish ranked behind the Indiana Hoosiers who were Sporting News No. 1 overall team after their 16-0 season last year. The Ohio State Buckeyes were No.2, Georgia was No. 3 and the Texas Longhorns were No. 4. Sporting News is another major outlet that views Notre Dame as a Top 5 team heading into the 2026 season.
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When you factor in their motivation heading into this fall combined with the roster and coaching staff that comes back, it’s easy to understand why. The Irish return the best roster in college football, both their offensive and defensive coordinators and have their first returning starting quarterback since 2020.
A lot of the conversation around this program from last season were their combined four-point losses to Miami in the season opener and their one-point home loss to Texas A&M. For the first time since 1966, a season where they only allowed 38 total points on defense, Notre Dame racked up 10-straight wins and they were all by double digits. Several key members on offense and defense return from that squad and they’ll look to do more of the same this upcoming season.
Their schedule sets up favorably as they don’t have premier Top 10 or Top 20 matchups to begin the season. They’ll have the opportunity to pick up several ranked wins at the end of October through the month of November, something they didn’t have the opportunity to do last season. Sporting News ranks Miami at No. 7, BYU at No. 15 and SMU at No. 23 in their projected preseason rankings. Notre Dame plays all three from October 17 to the end of the regular season.
Sporting News is another outlet that’s high on the USC Trojans coming into this season. Personally, I don’t see the hype around this program. Head coach Lincoln Riley has yet to show he can put a playoff season together and their roster in certain areas is lacking compared to their 2025 roster. I’m in ‘wait and see’ mode with the Trojans, but they have a lot to prove in 2026.
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1. Indiana Hoosiers
2. Ohio State Buckeyes
3. Georgia Bulldogs
4. Texas Longhorns
5. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
6. Oregon Ducks
7. Miami Hurricanes
8. Ole Miss Rebels
9. Oklahoma Sooners
10. USC Trojans
11. Texas A&M Aggies
12. Alabama Crimson Tide
13. Michigan Wolverines
14. LSU Tigers
15. BYU Cougars
16. Utah Utes
17. Penn State Nittany Lions
18. Louisville Cardinals
19. Iowa Hawkeyes
20. Texas Tech Red Raiders
21. Houston Cougars
22. Illinois Fighting Illini
23. SMU Mustangs
24. Washington Huskies
25. Virginia Tech Hokies
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