logo
Notre Dame 2025 Season Preview With Crain and Company

Notre Dame 2025 Season Preview With Crain and Company

Yahoo04-07-2025
Notre Dame 2025 Season Preview With Crain and Company originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Notre Dame had an outstanding season in year three of the Marcus Freeman era, and the Irish will look to build on that in 2025. A season ago the Fighting Irish advanced to the national title game, and now in season four Notre Dame will look to take that final jump and try to a title.
Advertisement
I joined Crain and Company to preview the Notre Dame season:
Here are some of the topics that we discussed:
*** We discuss expectations for Notre Dame in 2025, and what the floor is for the team and what the ceiling is. I argue that at least getting back to the semi-finals is the floor of what we should expect from the Irish this season.
*** We discuss the type of athlete that Notre Dame has landed since Freeman was hired as head coach. There is still a misconception about how good Notre Dame is athletically and we discuss that during the show. Notre Dame's depth of talent across the depth chart is very impressive.
Advertisement
*** Of course we spent time talking about the quarterback position, beginning with a look at redshirt freshman CJ Carr and how the Irish will build around their young quarterback. Carr is battling Kenny Minchey for the starting job and we discuss how the team can use the talent around them to thrive while the quarterbacks get experience.
*** We talk the game that gives the most concern heading into the season, and that focus is on Texas A&M.
*** We will discuss how the third-down and short yardage offense will look without Riley Leonard. We'll also spend time talking about what the offensive line looks like in 2025.
*** We talk about what the floor and ceiling are for Notre Dame in 2025.
Advertisement
Be sure to check out the Irish Breakdown message board, the Champions Lounge
Irish Breakdown Content
2025 Scholarship Chart
2025 Football Schedule
Notre Dame 2026 Commits
Notre Dame 2026 Scholarship Offers
2025 Commit Rankings - Offense
2025 Commit Rankings - Defense
2024 Recruiting Class
2023 Recruiting Class
2022 Recruiting Class
———————
Become a premium Irish Breakdown member, which grants you access to all of our premium content and our premium message board! Click on the link below for more.
BECOME A MEMBER
Be sure to stay locked into Irish Breakdown all the time!
Join the Irish Breakdown community!
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown YouTube channel
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown podcast on iTunes
Follow me on Twitter: @CoachD178
Like and follow Irish Breakdown on Facebook
Sign up for the FREE Irish Breakdown daily newsletter
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 4, 2025, where it first appeared.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

What USC football head coach Lincoln Riley said at Big Ten media days press conference
What USC football head coach Lincoln Riley said at Big Ten media days press conference

USA Today

time21 minutes ago

  • USA Today

What USC football head coach Lincoln Riley said at Big Ten media days press conference

This week marked Big Ten media days in Las Vegas. Over the past three days, coaches and players from every program in the conference spoke to the media, in addition to Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti. On Thursday afternoon, after 16 other head coach gave press conferences, it was finally USC head coach Lincoln Riley's turn. Here are some of the highlights of what he had to say. On quarterback Jayden Maiava "He started 4 games last year, against really good defenses," Riley said. "He made some huge, unbelievable plays. His arm talent and decisiveness he plays with is really unique. He can be really special." On safety Kamari Ramsey "He's another guy that we've really challenged to step up and be a leader vocally," Riley said. On offensive lineman DJ Wingfield's eligibility battle "We have no specific updates on DJ right now," Riley said. "The process is ongoing right now. I wish I could comment a little bit more, but we've got to let that play out." On the future of the USC-Notre Dame rivalry "My very first thought [when hired as the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma] was I get to coach OU-Texas," Riley said. "When I decided to take USC job, my first thought was I get to coach USC-Notre Dame. Do I want to play the game? Hell, yeah. I'm hopeful we can get to the point where it makes sense. The two schools are in radically different situations, one in a conference." On former USC head coach Pete Carroll's eligibility for the College Football Hall of Fame "Hard to imagine a guy that's had an impact like coach Carroll had on college football," Riley said. "It's a little difficult for me, and I think a lot of my colleagues, to imagine a hall of fame that exists without him." On his biggest regret at USC thus far "We went heavy in the portal in year two, trying to capitalize on that, which was probably the toughest decision, the one we went back and forth on the most," Riley said. "If you asked me my biggest regret up to this point, that's probably it."

The Notre Dame Leprechaun ranked as top mascot by ESPN
The Notre Dame Leprechaun ranked as top mascot by ESPN

USA Today

time21 minutes ago

  • USA Today

The Notre Dame Leprechaun ranked as top mascot by ESPN

When it comes to college sports, mascots rule. They are integral to the fan experience of going to a sporting event, especially on Saturdays in the fall. And Notre Dame's Leprechaun is one of the more popular mascots nationally. So when ESPN's Ryan McGee released his college football Mascot Power Rankings, it came as no surprise that there was a lot of love for The Leprechaun. McGee broke mascots down into five categories, and the Notre Dame Leprechaun took top honors in the Human Division, ahead of the Mountaineer (West Virginia) and Davy Crockett (Tennessee), who tied for second; Masked Rider (Texas Tech) at third; Osceola (Florida State) at fourth; and Vili the Warrior (Hawai'i) at No. 5. Which mascot outside of the Leprechaun is your personal favorite? Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on X (Formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions. Follow Dave on X: Miller_Dave

What is Notre Dame's new go-to third-and-3 call? Is Cam Williams on schedule? Irish mailbag
What is Notre Dame's new go-to third-and-3 call? Is Cam Williams on schedule? Irish mailbag

New York Times

time22 minutes ago

  • New York Times

What is Notre Dame's new go-to third-and-3 call? Is Cam Williams on schedule? Irish mailbag

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Welcome to the final Notre Dame mailbag of the offseason. That went quick, didn't it? You've got a ton of questions on everything from stats to watch, players on the rise and what Notre Dame should do to remember (or forget?) a 20-year anniversary inside the stadium. Let's get to the questions. Advertisement You are unable to see any scores in the upcoming season but want to know if Notre Dame will make the playoff. What is one offensive and defensive stat (individual or team) that you could monitor that would tell you that they had a 'successful season'? — Alex S. I'll take yards per play allowed on defense for starters. Notre Dame finished 11th in this category last season, and six teams ranked better than the Irish made the College Football Playoff (Ohio State, Indiana, Texas, Tennessee, Penn State and SMU). Alabama (No. 9) and Ole Miss (No. 4) almost made the CFP. Hilariously, Northern Illinois was tied with Alabama in that ninth spot. If you keep the yards down consistently, you're probably keeping the points down and forcing plenty of turnovers along the way. Turnover margin feels too fluky to feel controllable, but the top four Power 4 programs in turnover margin last year all made the CFP: Notre Dame, Clemson, Indiana and Arizona State. But Ohio State was 50th, so this isn't a make-or-break stat. Offensively, if CJ Carr finishes in the top 20 in passer efficiency, Notre Dame is heading back to the CFP and probably doing some damage. Last year's top five were Jaxon Dart (Ole Miss), Kurtis Rourke (Indiana), Will Howard (Ohio State), Cam Ward (Miami) and Shedeur Sanders (Colorado). All got drafted. Fair warning, Sam Hartman finished No. 15 two years ago. He wasn't a CFP-level quarterback, but the targets available to Carr (or Kenny Minchey) should be much better. Third-and-three … what's the play call this year? In that same vein, what were some of the most predictable yet successful situational plays (ex: Riley Leonard zone read inside three yards) you remember from your time on the beat? — Jonathan G. This is one of the biggest questions facing Mike Denbrock in training camp. And I'm not sure he has the answer quite yet. That's fine, by the way. It's still July. My hunch is Notre Dame should be efficient in the short passing game in that kind of set, perhaps with CJ Carr in empty and Jeremiyah Love split out. In theory, that gives Carr a clean look at the field and puts Love into a mismatch with a linebacker or reserve defensive back. Eli Raridon would be a tough cover for any linebacker. Malachi Fields should give you a back shoulder/jump ball option if the matchup is right. There's the threat of jet sweeps with Love or Jaden Greathouse. Basically, you've got a ton of options but need the quarterback to pick the right one. Advertisement Does any of that feel as reliable as running Leonard on third-and-short? Absolutely not. He was close to automatic. And if he got stopped, he had at least turned third-and-three into fourth-and-one. Just run Leonard again and move the chains. Leonard finished last season with 30 third- or fourth-down conversions with his legs. Jaden Greathouse was the only other player on the team to hit double figures with 13 (six of those came against Penn State and Ohio State). You previously opined that Notre Dame's first game of the season is a barometer of what's to come. Given a new quarterback and new defensive coordinator, will that prove true this year? And where do you expect to see the biggest evolution from September to November? — Eric D. Ah yes, the Harbinger Theory. For those who don't know, I believe Notre Dame's first game usually tells the tale of the season. It's been around so long that I actually asked Brian Kelly about it in a press conference once. Not sure he agreed with my hypothesis, but that was a long time ago. And for the record, Marcus Freeman is 2-for-3 with the Harbinger Theory. His opening game at Ohio State pretty much nailed that team's better-than-expected defense and offense that had to work for everything. Last season? Elite defense, run-first offense, rudimentary passing game at Texas A&M. Pretty much held up until the second half of the Penn State game, the 59th quarter of the season. On paper, Freeman's second team blowing out Navy in Ireland felt like the exception, yet that offense blew out every overmatched team it played and struggled with bigger games. So maybe that qualifies under the Harbinger Theory. Regardless, I expect what Notre Dame shows at Miami to be a long way from what the Irish show in November when the regular season wraps up at Stanford. But I don't expect defensive coordinator Chris Ash to have much to do with that change. Notre Dame's defense should be better at the end of the year than the beginning, but that growth arc probably doesn't match the potential progress of the pass game. Advertisement Any update on Cam Williams' development? It's concerning to see a Top 100 receiver recruit not be mentioned for playing time increases in his second year. Getting shades of Jordan Johnson and am hoping that's not the case. — Christopher D. Notre Dame's aggressive pursuit of receivers in the transfer portal the past two offseasons, taking five at the position, says at least something about where Williams is in his development. Does Notre Dame get that bold in the portal if Williams has shown flashes of Michael Floyd or Golden Tate? Probably not. But there's a big difference between not seeing Williams as an impact player now and giving up on him entirely. It's way too early to think about Jordan Johnson, who'd already transferred by this stage of his career and never caught on elsewhere. The hope for Williams at Notre Dame probably resembles the career arc of Miles Boykin, who took a redshirt as a freshman, made six catches as a sophomore and made 12 catches as a junior. Then he broke out as a senior, went in the third round and has banked about $7 million in the NFL during the past seven seasons. Is Boykin an exception to the rule? Yes. That doesn't mean Williams can't be another one. Context might help here, too. For the sake of comparison, look at the top 20 receivers in the 247Sports Composite last cycle. Williams was No. 12. Just seven of those wideouts finished last season with double-digit catches, and four of those were five-star prospects: Jeremiah Smith (Ohio State), Cam Coleman (Auburn), Ryan Williams (Alabama) and TJ Moore (Clemson). You'd be hard-pressed to name the other three: Ryan Wingo (Texas), Bryant Wesco (Clemson) and Dre'lon Miller (Colorado). Maybe Williams just needs more time to develop. Maybe Notre Dame recruits over top of Williams with this freshman class and the one coming next year. A good season for Williams this fall is probably getting on the field and showing he can handle the offense. Remember, he's still got four years of eligibility to prove he can play. There doesn't need to be a rush. But there does need to be some progress this season. Can you do some digging about the logistics of the NYC trip for the few Notre Dame players and Marcus Freeman? How do they determine which shows they appear on? Are these paid appearances or does Notre Dame set the interviews? — Clay E. Notre Dame did something similar the past two years by taking Freeman and players to New York in late summer. It's a dead sports time, save for conference media days, which obviously Notre Dame doesn't fit into the program's schedule. The Irish basically fill a vacuum in the sports calendar while also getting national television spots in a way other programs don't (or couldn't). Last summer, the players attended a performance of 'Hamilton.' In addition to Riley Leonard and Benjamin Morrison, Notre Dame brought Jordan Clark last year and did an ESPN segment with his dad, Ryan Clark. Obviously, NBC is a friendly outlet to Notre Dame, with some of the interviews last season focused on promoting the Peacock documentary. Notre Dame's story is more mainstream this summer coming off that run to the national championship game. 'Good Morning America' is an ABC property, and that network will broadcast Notre Dame-Miami next month. Basically, there's a lot of mutually beneficial reasons to do these interviews, for the networks, for Notre Dame, for the players. And you get a free trip to New York without having to fly like the rest of us on commercial. The players have done Yankees games, Mets games, etc. Typically, if you're willing to bring the talent to the studio, the network is going to put that talent on air, especially if it's a coach with the current appeal of Freeman. Advertisement With this year being the 20th anniversary of the Bush Push game (I was a sophomore in '05 and it still traumatizes me), does the school have any plans to commemorate this or just ignore it entirely? — Tae K. I contend the landscaping teams at Notre Dame should let all grasses around campus grow to knee height, considering they can't do it in the stadium anymore. I mean, it's pretty obvious USC would have blown out Notre Dame in the game if it wasn't for the long grass, right? Right? But seriously, if there ever was a moment to bring back those '05 green jerseys, this is the time.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store