Notre Dame football went into the 2024 college football season with a lot to prove. Head coach Marcus Freeman had a ton of promise and upside, is very well spoken, a sharp defensive mind, and is an impact recruiter, but just how good of a head coach is he? That’s what people wanted answered.
The Fighting Irish program also needed to show they could compete with the big boys. It had been a very, very long time since the team had won a major bowl game. They are a program who hasn’t been able to show they could compete against other top programs in the country in recent memory. Notre Dame did a lot to answer a lot of those questions last season.
On top of a 14-win season (a program record), and national title appearance, Notre Dame was able to defeat three straight top ten teams to make the final. Defeating both Georgia and Penn State down the stretch was a statement from this program. As the national runners up, many would think this team should be appropriately ranked as a contender heading into the 2025 season. Instead, they have been constantly disrespected.
In a post-spring top 20 ranking from CBS Sports national college football analyst Josh Pate, Notre Dame came in at No. 6 on his list. The spot in his ranking seems a little odd immediately, but the Irish are behind a couple of other programs that feel like serious head scratchers. That includes LSU, who is one spot ahead of them at No. 5.
Anytime LSU and head coach Brian Kelly are mentioned, it will immediately raise some antennas for the obvious reason. That is especially true in this case considering that the Tigers are coming off of a 9-4 season in 2024, and needing to completely overturn the roster because of that failure. Speaking of failures, Coach Kelly was a huge reason that Notre Dame fans had lowered their expectations for the program with his inability to win big games.
LSU attacked the portal hard, but that is more an example of the inconsistency the program has done with consistently recruiting and developing so far under Coach Kelly. That is also something that Irish fans are very familiar with. The Tigers brought in a lot of shiny new toys, but also had to completely overturn their talented offensive line and still have questions about several important positions, including consistency with quarterback Garrett Nussmeier.
Coach Freeman showed more in big games just last season than Kelly has shown in the last 15 years. Yet, LSU is rated over Notre Dame for some strange reason. That inclusion doesn’t make much sense.
While there is a lot to be optimistic about with the Penn State Nittany Lions, them being three spots ahead of the Irish seems a little odd as well. Head coach James Franklin has gained an unfortunate reputation, like Kelly, for coming up short in the biggest games on their schedule. They even lost a playoff game to Notre Dame last season, but still received the benefit of the doubt over the Irish.
The Alabama Crimson Tide also managed to outpace the Notre Dame team despite coming off of a very disappointing 2024 season, and breaking in a new starting quarterback. Clearly Notre Dame must have lost a lot. Based on these type of rankings, this must be a roster with a ton of questions, right? Right?
What if I told you that Notre Dame is actually bringing back 22 players who started at least one football game last season? That doesn’t even count bringing in talented transfers like former Virginia wide receiver Malachi Fields, and returning arguably the best running back in all of college football in Jeremiyah Love. This is, by all accounts, an experienced team with a lot of speed up and down the roster.
At the end of the day, preseason rankings don’t matter much. Nobody had the Irish making the national championship game last season, especially after all the injuries they suffered. If they do manage to win a championship in the near future, hopefully they began to get the respect this program under Coach Freeman deserves. For now, they are pressed to prove doubters wrong once again
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