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Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman greets his players during a Notre Dame football spring practice at Irish Athletic Center on Wednesday, March 19, 2025, in South Bend. MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

For Notre Dame Fans, This Weekend’s Opener Has Been a Long Time Coming

Originally posted on Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI
By Nick Shepkowski | Last updated Aug 31, 2025 9:37 AM ET

After what has felt at times like it took eight years, the roughly eight months between last season's national championship game and this year's season opener at Miami comes to an end Sunday in the Sunshine State.

For Notre Dame, last year was about making it known that under head coach Marcus Freeman, Fighting Irish football is back.

This year it's about making it clear that Notre Dame football isn't going away anytime soon, as it looks to continue to elevate and end the 37 year national championship drought.

Notre Dame Football: Expectations Are Sky-High

It's been a long time since Notre Dame started a season with the expectations this team has. Following College Football Playoff and national championship appearances under Brian Kelly, expectations were high, but they felt like they had a ceiling that was short of winning it all.

2006 comes to mind as well, fresh off a surprising 9-3 year under Charlie Weis, it felt like the program was a legitimate national championship contender when it started No. 2. After getting dominated by Michigan in September, though, things under Weis were never the same.

This year, Notre Dame enters the season as a real national championship contender. Yes, any championship in today's college football requires a little bit of luck, but the foundation is in place that should keep Notre Dame knocking on the door for years to come. Make no mistake, that beings Sunday night at Miami.

Notre Dame 2025: Quarterback Concern Entering Sunday

MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

If the first full Saturday of the 2025 season showed us anything, it's that defenses appear to be well ahead of offenses early on.

Notre Dame has star talent all over the field but is starting inexperienced quarterback CJ Carr Sunday night, in an environment that can be downright nasty when things are going well for the hometown Hurricanes.

That's why teams win games and not just quarterbacks. Carr is blessed with loads of talent around him, including what is perhaps the best running back room in the country, headed by playmaker Jeremiyah Love.

He also shouldn't have to guide the Irish to score 40 points to win, thanks to what should continue to be an elite Notre Dame defense.

Notre Dame Football: Raising the Bar

Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

2024 was a successful season as Notre Dame demonstrated its national capabilities, after years of essentially being content to be there.

When you have a margin for error so small, like it is when you're trying to win a college football national championship, it doesn't mean anything short of it is a failure. However, the window is now open for Notre Dame to make a serious run at holding that big trophy at the end of the year, something that hasn't realistically been said in decades.

I never thought as kid in 1993 that it'd be over 30 years until this was the realistic expectation again annually.

Enjoy Sunday night and enjoy the 2025 season, Notre Dame fans. It's been a long time coming.

This article first appeared on Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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