~optional musical accompaniment~
As we prepare to embark on Marcus Freeman’s fifth season as Notre Dame head coach, there aren’t much in the way of big picture mysteries to solve nor narratives to be established. The roster is stacked, recruiting is humming, the money is flowing (these things are all related) and Freeman has proven his bonafides fielding two consecutive elite teams. An immense amount of talent returns to be coached by a mix of guys we know and trust and new faces with great reputations. The only question left to answer is how far can this go.
When was the last time expectations were this elevated? I think you have to go all the way back to 2006, Charlie Weis’ second season when a host of returning starters led by Brady Quinn earned the preseason No. 2 AP ranking1. That campaign started off well enough by surviving Calvin Johnson and Roman Reigns in Atlanta before blowing out Penn State, but the wheels had been thumped off by Alan Branch and LaMarr Woodley before the end of September. It’s safe to say with all the knowledge that wasn’t available two decades ago that Freeman is a better head coach than Weis and this roster is far deeper and far more balanced. The opportunity to finish the job they came so close to completing in 2024 is right there.
When we gather before the initial kickoff I find it useful to repeat and remember that for the incalculable offseason hours invested into scraping data, sifting through depth charts and grinding film, sometimes we can miss something obvious. Prior to the 2019 season, the LSU Tigers were 6th in the preseason AP poll. They had finished with 10 wins the previous year but it wasn’t obvious they were going to turn in an all-time season.
What makes this autumn so exciting is there are a number of teams who could realistically have it all click like those Bayou Bengals or last year’s Hoosiers (No. 20 to start the season), and what makes it potentially thrilling for Notre Dame fans is the Irish could absolutely be the team that has it all come together because the pieces are there. And to make it even rosier, you don’t have to have all that many variables flip our way to make it possible.
There is no reason the defense shouldn’t be among the best in the country if not a no-doubt outright number one. There’s a case to be made they have the best cornerback room (they certainly have the best single corner), the best safety room and the best linebacker room in the nation. There are the questions we’ve mulled all offseason about the defensive line — is there enough depth at end and is there a star or two among the large (both in quantity and actual size) cast of characters comprising the interior — but the floor there remains incredibly high and if the starting ends are healthy and productive all season the depth might not matter all that much. Overall, there are more than a dozen guys on this defense who could conceivably be drafted in the spring, a surfeit of talent we haven’t seen in ages.
Following the foibles that plagued the first five halves of the 2025 season, Chris Ash settled in and did tremendous work. Granted, there were a number of hopeless tomato cans in there, but they also kept the lid on Arkansas (13th in F+ offense; 13 points allowed), NC State (29th; 7 points allowed) and Southern Cal (6th; 24 points allowed, albeit with an assist from Mother Nature). Turning over the entire defensive coaching staff around him doesn’t overly concern me as Freeman is still there and Ash has worked closely with Charlie Partridge and Aaron Henry. If this defensive roster doesn’t deliver, Freeman going off the expected list with the Ash choice will have cost him two shots at a championship, but I feel good about where things stand.
Offense is a different story because so much has changed around C.J. Carr. Gone are both starting tackles (well, one is still there, he’s just moved inside), two first-round tailbacks (including perhaps the best to ever do it in blue and gold), the big receiving threat, the reliable slot guy and the big big-play tight end. This is where you hope consistency and pedigree matter. Carr is back and devoid of the pressure of dealing with a quarterback competition all offseason, as are his coordinator and quarterback coach. Depending on how far along the rest of the team is in September, it could be on Carr, Mike Denbrock and the defense to keep things moving during the early portion of the season.
(No shortage of good quotes about Carr, but love this one from Ja’Juan Seider: “I’ve never been around a kid that good at this level. Like, he’s like a coach playing. And so, it’s really like a pro playing with college players.”)
For Notre Dame to win a title, Carr will have to build rapports with targets other than Jordan Faison (whom we do not take for granted -- what an incredible rise from walk-on to where he sits now as captain on a title favorite) while the offensive line ups its game to the point they’re blowing open holes big enough to allow all the new ball carriers to do their best Love-Price impersonations. This will be aided by a deeper tight end room that will at the very least be enthusiastic about and capable of contributing to plowing the way on the ground.
Due to the grace of the schedule, things don’t need to be clicked into place immediately. I’m viewing the offensive progression as having to be at a 200 level by Provo, a 300 level by the time the Hurricanes visit and a 400 level by December. If things are humming sooner and the offense arrives fully formed or finds itself by West Lafayette or Chapel Hill, Jesus bless, but it’s more about being at its best possible form for Miami, SMU and beyond.
That’s a fun wrinkle to a season with this heavy of expectations. Instead of tuning in and hoping to see a box checked on the way to postseason glory, we’ll likely get to see this offense evolve and figure itself out. And if Carr is as good as his most ardent supporters believe, we’ll also have the privilege of watching greatness every weekend. I know Denbrock’s preferred mode of attack is with three wide receivers but considering a few of the things we’re feeling best about in the preseason — the quarterback’s abilities to make pre-snap changes, the blocking prowess of the tight ends and the tailback room — I am envisioning the potential for some chess move ground-and-pound in Lambeau, but maybe things will be more wide open than that to begin.
It’s tempting to think Notre Dame’s chances will be boosted because of karma and the power of a revenge tour from last year. That will make a great lede should the Irish prevail in the desert on January 25 and I know it’s provided offseason motivation but that’s about the extent of its power. Following the calamity of the Northern Illinois loss, there was a sentiment from some fans that went along the lines of “I invest so much time/emotion/money into this team, and it’s a betrayal for them to not deliver me what I deserve.”
Sorry, false, that’s unfortunately not how this works. Unless you’re putting millions of dollars into the NIL fund, your inputs are entirely divorced from the quality of the team. But in this case, “deserve” having nothing to do with it isn’t a bad thing. If you’ve been loosely monitoring or totally checked out since the darkness of the playoff field announcement, there is still a legitimate top-tier title contender waiting for you to cheer on this season. The work has been done and now we get the chance to witness something special.
Back at the beginning of summer I debated the concept of whether this season is championship or bust. Give the whole piece a skim if you missed it the first time around but where I landed is that on paper there are too many potentially elite teams to say the Irish should obviously plow through them all on the way to the trophy. The other factor that’s only become more heartening since that newsletter went out is Freeman is recruiting at a level that could eventually make this roster look inadequate if the influx of talent continues apace. This does not feel like the pinnacle of anything, but instead a beautiful overlook as we continue to reach new and exciting heights.
But just because a season isn’t necessarily “must win” doesn’t mean the Irish shouldn’t just go ahead and take the whole damn thing. It’s laid out perfectly: A veteran defense, a quarterback with top of the draft upside, a schedule that allows the offense time to ramp up around a Heisman favorite and a coach who took a look at the NFL and found his current situation preferable. By any available metric you root for a phenomenal football team, and now it’s just a matter of whether they can do what is necessary to do something historic.
First, the Badgers. Two things are indisputable truths: 1) For as poorly as things have been going for Luke Fickell since he got to Madison, the defense has stayed quite good. In 2025 they were 28th in F+ defense and 16th in allowing plays of 20+ yards. 2) Old Dominion transfer Colton Joseph is so much better than what has been rolled out from an injury-plagued quarterback room the last few seasons, but is also a guy who can throw picks and take sacks. The line is floating around three touchdowns and this team will want to make an early statement, but you could see a dual threat like Joseph making a couple plays and the Wisconsin defense doing enough to keep it interesting for a while.
I’d say all eyes will be on this game because it’s Sunday night of Labor Day weekend but that won’t be the case with Louisville/Ole Miss on at the same time despite a dearth of interesting Saturday games. So it goes with another masterstroke from the Powers That Be guiding this sport, but not a big deal. The Irish should focus on making the first half of this season a bunch of blowouts with crooked numbers only watched until the end by us and the most sicko completionists of the opposition’s fans.
It is wonderful how good of a job Freeman has done evolving as a head coach and I love how easy he is to love as he serves as a stellar representative for the university. I do occasionally see something from an Irish fan that is so exuberant I almost want to butt in and say “I don’t think Marcus has solved college football…” but there’s no desire to bring anyone down when they’re soaring high in the offseason. This is an ideal time to dream as big as one’s imagination allows.
If Freeman has indeed solved college football, I hope you all remind me of this silly sentiment after Notre Dame’s 25th straight double-digit victory leads to the raising of a trophy. I suspect there will be some struggles and ugly sequences of football along the way, and there will likely be some very capable dragons in need of slaying before the journey ends. I cannot wait to see this team play and evolve and ideally find a final form capable of taking it all. I am so very excited to see where this goes and assume you are as well. It will be a thrill to go on this journey together.
We’re finally here. Go Irish, Beat Badgers. Then go win the whole damn thing.
That’s it from me. If there are any Notre Dame fans in your life who aren’t familiar with the newsletter, please consider sending it over to them. Appreciate everyone who spreads the good word about these posts or the podcast as this remains a grassroots initiative.
Speaking of, if you need some listening material between now and kickoff, the pod feed (Spotify) (Apple) (“Rakes Report” wherever you listen) is brimming with options: Going over every transfer and freshman on the team, depth chart power rankings, a full schedule preview and the excitement draft. Thanks to everyone who hopped on to chat over the preceding weeks, it was a blast. If you were tuned out for the offseason but are now devouring all available college football content, there are a few options from earlier in the year I’d recommend, which I’ll include in a footnote here2.
Merchandise link. See you all on Tuesday morning (for new subscribers: normally the game reviews come Monday, but we’ll wait for Week One to conclude in full with SMU in Tallahassee). Until then, take care of yourselves and each other.
I don’t think the 2020 hype would have been quite the level of 2006 or 2026 if that offseason had been normal and not cursed but it would have been close. A two-year starter at quarterback coming back after an 11-2 season, plus the offensive line, Kyle Hamiton and Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah. Imagine the incredible camp reports we’d be getting on Kyren Williams and Michael Mayer. Would have been fun.
In reverse chronological: The Ultimate Notre Dame Football Weekend Guide from Aug. 4, the Respect Index from May 21, the review of every new coaching hire from Feb. 4 and the What’s In, What’s Out from Jan. 21.
The segment about "Must win" and how it really seems like this might be the start of a title window reminds me a lot of the discussion before the season for the Carolina Hurricanes and, well, I hope it goes as well for ND! Lol