CJ Carr Will Be Great, But Notre Dame's Defense Will Power 2026 Season

The Irish have experience, talent, and depth that might be the best yet under Marcus Freeman.

Sep 20, 2025; South Bend, Indiana, USA; A Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive lineman Bryce Young (95) celebrates a sack against the Purdue Boilermakers during the second half at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Michael Caterina-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

As the 2026 college football season rapidly approaches, expectations for Notre Dame have reached heights that haven't been seen in 20 years, going all the way back to the 2006 season, when the Irish were a preseason top-five team.

Notre Dame has a talented and deep roster combined with a very manageable schedule, which should be a recipe for big-time success.

But what will the actual games look like specifically? For all the hype about CJ Carr and the possibilities of the Irish offense, I believe the defense will be the engine that drives Notre Dame to the CFP.

The Notre Dame Great Defense Will Come To Play Every Week

Notre Dame's 2026 defense has no obvious holes in it.

The secondary lead by Leonard Moore is expected to be the best in the country, the linebacker group will be very strong as well with Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa expected to return from his ACL injury sooner rather than later.

This goes along with a revamped defensive front that should be able to attack the line of scrimmage early and often. This will be a hard unit to consistently score on.

Aside from the personnel, I just feel like it's easier to play consistently good defense than it is offense week to week. That's why I feel the Irish defense will be this team's backbone.

Good defense isn't affected by wind, rain, cold, sleet, or just an off day by one player the way offenses are. Good defenses just do what they do. Hunt and eat week after week.

By the end of 2025, even with the KVA injury, Notre Dame was playing terrific defense, the kind of defense that could have won playoff games for sure.

This group should be even better than that because of the upgrades to the defensive line. The portal haul up front combined with the returning in-house players and Charlie Partridge's coaching signifies disruption. This is a winning formula.

Notre Dame star quarterback and Heisman favorite CJ Carr was the MVP of the Manning Passing Academy “and it wasn’t even close” per NFL Draft expert Todd McShay 👀

Many of the top QBs in the country including Arch Manning, Trinidad Chambliss, Julian Sayin, and more were in… pic.twitter.com/fzc4OcDWI5

— Recruits CFB (@recruits_cfb) June 30, 2026

The Notre Dame offense is an exciting mystery

While I'm very bullish and confident in the Irish defense, I expect the offense to be good too under CJ Carr's leadership, who just won the MVP award at the Manning Passing Academy. With Jeremiyah Love and JD Price now in the NFL, this offense is CJ Carr's.

Where things get interesting is when you examine Carr's supporting cast. There will be so many new faces in new places.

The reciever room is revamped, the offensive line reshuffled to go along with new running backs and tight ends. This unit very well may click and take off, but it may take some time to get there.

This is where the Notre Dame defense becomes crucial, keeping the opponent off the scoreboard as this offense finds its footing.