Even though they did not win the College Football Playoff last season, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish had an incredible run to the CFP Final. I mean, I picked against them in all four of their playoff games. While I was no Desmond Howard, many of us slighted Notre Dame based on recent history. Marcus Freeman's team showed us that it has leveled up from years past.
Last offseason, I had Notre Dame as one of three almost locks to make the expanded College Football Playoff, along with Penn State — which the Fighting Irish beat in the Orange Bowl — and Ole Miss, which failed to make the playoff at 9-3 (5-3) on the year. Right now, I have Notre Dame in a group of about five teams who are borderline locks along with Clemson, Georgia, Oregon and Tennessee.
At this time, I have the Fighting Irish definitively looking up at Ohio State, Penn State and Texas, in no particular order. That means I have Notre Dame projected to start next season potentially as high as No. 4, but no lower than No. 8. I have already tabbed Georgia at No. 5, Clemson at No. 6 and Tennessee at No. 8. So where does that leave Notre Dame? Again, this is all fluid until we get to August.
To me, Notre Dame is going to win 10 or 11 games next year and put itself in the playoff mix again.
College football rankings: Where should Notre Dame be ranked in 2025?
Based on what we saw last year, I think it makes all the sense in the world to have Notre Dame ranked in the top five to start next season. Since they beat Georgia in the Sugar Bowl, I would have no issues having them ranked No. 4 to start ahead of Georgia, Clemson, Oregon and Tennessee — probably in that order. That cluster of teams is firmly behind the ones I have stated as my top three.
As far as figuring out who will round out the top 10, I need more time to marinate on that. However, I feel really strong about the teams I have in my top eight. Quite frankly, Notre Dame shouldn't be worse than No. 6, depending on how you feel about Georgia and Clemson. While I do believe Oregon and Tennessee will be playoff teams, their coaching staffs need to show me more next year.
So yes, I am going to comfortably put Notre Dame at No. 4. That puts the Fighting Irish ahead of Georgia and Clemson, probably behind Penn State, Texas and Ohio State, in that order. Again, I feel like I could rearrange the order of who I have in the top three a bit, but I do not think Clemson, Georgia and Notre Dame belong in that same upper echelon just yet, even if they're all close.
Notre Dame is undoubtedly a top-eight team next year, but they earned the right be a top-four team.