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Notre Dame's Sudden Role Reversal with Fans and National Media
Sep 13, 2025; South Bend, Indiana, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman greets players before a game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Notre Dame Stadium. Michael Caterina-Imagn Images

Notre Dame's Sudden Role Reversal with Fans and National Media

Originally posted on Notre Dame Fighting Irish on SI
By Nick Shepkowski  |  Last updated Sep 17, 2025 11:27 AM ET

Notre Dame's first two games of the 2025 season haven't gone as planned. First, it was a heartbreaker at Miami with the Hurricanes kicking a long field goal to take the lead with just over a minute to play. Then it was Texas A&M scoring in the final seconds to steal a victory in Notre Dame Stadium.

At 0-2, Notre Dame feels like its a million miles from playing for a national championship like it did last January. However, if you give the Irish a combined six more points, they're undefeated and in the nation's top five.

Notre Dame Fans Feeling Uncomfortable Right Now

Much of the feel with the Notre Dame football community right now is panic. The Fighting Irish defense doesn't look at all like itself through two games. Miami threw at will while Texas A&M looked like a Patrick Mahomes offense, the way it was hitting on long pass after long pass this past Saturday.

If you ask Notre Dame fans, this team is forever from realisitically contending for a championship. Most of the reason for that is because of a defense that simply hasn't generated pressure on opposing quarterbacks to date.

College Football Playoff? Yeah, right. Get things at least turned in the right direction defensively, and we'll talk.

National Media Still on Board with Notre Dame

One looks around the national media, and it shows a lot of believers in Notre Dame. Not just for the future, but for 2025, while the Fighting Irish sit 0-2 and face an uphill climb to the College Football Playoff.

Josh Pate of various outlets (On3, ESPN, and Yahoo) released his updated JP Poll where 0-2 Noter Dame checked in seventh nationally this week. Pate was quick to remind folks that his JP Poll is a power rating, not an actual ranking, but the praise was still obvious.

Elsewhere, Dan Katz (Barstool Big Cat) argued on Fox Sports 1 that Notre Dame at 0-2 today is in a better place than it was a year ago, when it was 1-1 and fresh off a loss to Northern Illinois. Check out the discussion below, which has nothing to do with Notre Dame's remaining schedule.

Kirk Herbstreit also had praise for the 0-2 Fighting Irish, all while Notre Dame became the first team to be 0-2 but remain in the AP Poll Top 25 since 1988, when Michigan accomplished the feat.

Nick Shepkowski's Quick Takeaway:

Although I've followed Notre Dame for as long as I've known what a football was, this knocks on the door of being a first. The only other time I can recall Notre Dame fans collectively seeing their team have major issues but still getting as much love from the media as it is nationally.

I can't think of many years Notre Dame fans have thought their team wasn't underrated, but overrated? Yeah, hardly.

1994 sticks out to me a bit as that, when Notre Dame routed Northwestern before falling in the final seconds to Michigan in Week 2. Wins over Michigan State, Purdue, and Stanford silenced some fears temporarily as Notre Dame rose back up to No. 8 in the polls, but losses to Boston College and BYU proved Irish fans' worst fears in a year they'd finish just 6-5-1.

I understand the computer polls that look at Notre Dame and see a very good team because the teams it lost to are also very good. My biggest concern with this team is that a pass rush never ends up appearing and another loss or two is had because a redshirt-freshman gets asked to out-duel an opposing quarterback another time or two too many.


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

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