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USA Today
2 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
ESPN believes that Notre Dame football will be a top-5 team over the next few seasons
ESPN believes that Notre Dame football will be a top-5 team over the next few seasons We all say that Notre Dame's football future is bright, and on Wednesday ESPN's Adam Rittenberg backed that idea up. When looking ahead to who he believes will be the top teams over the next two seasons, he ranked the Irish as his No. 5 team. It's a slight jump from last year, when Notre Dame was No. 7, for more than a few reasons. Rittenberg went on the explain that while the Irish aren't returning their starting quarterback, they should have a multiple year starts whoever (CJ Carr or Kenny Minchey) wins the job. He believes that the offensive line 'should be one of the nation's most talented groups,' along with the defensive line being loaded with talent despite having to replace more on this side of the ball. He lauds head coach Marcus Freeman's roster management, noting that the transfer additions will help immediately and 'retaining arguably the nation's best running back room and its gifted young offensive linemen.' Rittenberg mentions Notre Dame's star power also, as running back Jeremiyah Love, linebackers Drayk Bowen, cornerback Leonard Moore and safety Adon Shuler should be household names. As far as the coaching staff, Rittenberg has Freeman 'as one of the sport's top young coaches,' but did say that new defensive coordinator Chris Ash has 'big shoes' to fill replacing Al Golden. Put all this together, Notre Dame has one of the brighter immediate futures in college football, as just four others teams are viewed as being potentially better. It's going to a be a great few years of Irish football, starting very soon.
Yahoo
17-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
ESPN predicts which game will define Notre Dame's 2025 season
Although the college football season is more than 6 months away from starting up, it's never too early to look ahead to what could be in store for Notre Dame this coming fall. ESPN has had the same idea, and has been putting out a series of way-too-early looks for many of the top teams including the Irish. This time they looked at which games could be the most defining for each of their top-25 teams (subscription required), and for Notre Dame it was the season opening contest against Texas A&M. As you most likely remember, the Irish went into College Station to begin the 2024 year, and returned to South Bend with a 23-13 victory. While Notre Dame was one win away from a College Football Playoff title, the Aggies limped to an 8-5 record. Adam Rittenberg, the ESPN analyst who broke down the choice, said that the Irish 'could fall out of the playoff race' early since the schedule 'is front-loaded with several tough opponents.' Notre Dame starts its season at Miami, followed by a pair of home games with A&M and Purdue, then back on the road to Arkansas, and welcomes in Boise State. He sees the season going two-ways after the opener, either validating 'themselves as CFP title contenders again' or 'in desperation mode' to defeat Texas A&M. I think its too early to write off anyone after two weeks in the new 12-team playoff format, but if an 0-2 start is what the Irish see in 2025, they won't have any wiggle room for the rest of the year. This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: espn notre dame 2025 schedule top games texas AM
