Inside Notre Dame's 10-Game Winning Streak to Get in the CFP Hunt

What went wrong for Notre Dame against Miami & Texas A&M

Everyone around the Notre Dame program knew that there would be a high cost to be paid for Notre Dame's unfortunate 0-2 start to the 2025 season. Now, even after a 10-game win streak that followed 0-2, the bill has come due in the form of the Irish having to sweat it out for another week before seeing if they will be included in the CFP field or not.

Notre Dame's 0-2 start was fueled by a combination of challenging factors that all worked against the Irish. Some of these factors include a tough road game to start against Miami, followed by a visit from an athletic and physical Aggie squad while trying to break in a new starting quarterback and defensive coordinator. The margin for error in these games was small, and the Irish got exposed.

These are reasons, not excuses, for the 0-2 start. The Irish needed to have a better plan and a better grasp of where Carr and the defensive personnel were heading into the season. These miscalculations led to 0-2.

9️⃣ in the AP Poll#GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/ev45xAy5sa
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) November 30, 2025

Notre Dame's defense comes to life and finds itself

Since the second half of the Purdue game, Notre Dame's defense has looked much more like what Irish fans have become used to.

A lockdown unit that causes a lot of havoc and turnovers. After allowing 68 points in the first two games, the Irish found themselves and some comfort and confidence in Chris Ash's scheme.

In the 10 games after the two losses, the Irish have allowed an average of just 14.3 points per game and have taken the ball away from opponents at a very high rate. The Irish's plus-13 takeaway margin is the fifth-highest in the country.

It turns out, Chris Ash does know what he's doing; it just took a couple of games for things to come together. Unfortunately, those couple of games during the learning curve were costly.

Notre Dame's dual-threat offense is a new feature

Notre Dame's defense rounding into form is a big deal, more of a relief than anything else, in knowing that the Irish's DNA of playing hard-nosed defense is still the engine that drives the Notre Dame program, but the offense has come to life as well, and with a new feature.

For the first time in the modern era of CFB, Notre Dame's offense can burn teams through the air and on the ground. This is a new and very valuable feature. In the Irish's 10-game win streak, they are scoring an average of a robust 44 points per game.

This Notre Dame team now looks nothing like the team that started the year 0-2, but those two losses count and matter. What comes next? An uncomfortable wait for the final two CFP bracket reveals to see if the Irish have earned a chance at ultimate redemption.