Why Does the National Media Suddenly LOVE Notre Dame?

Just about every pick that has come out of late has Notre Dame winning the national championship

Nov 15, 2025; Athens, Georgia, USA; ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit smiles prior to a game between the Texas Longhorns and the Georgia Bulldogs at Sanford Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

We knew based off the Las Vegas odds that Notre Dame was going to be seen as a favorite to win the national championship entering the 2026 college football season.

What we didn't expect was for Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish to be as wide-spread of a pick by national experts as it has become.

Notre Dame has gone from having its name in the discussion to easily having the most expert picks of any contender this year. We highlighted when Joel Klatt picked the Fighting Irish to win it all recently, but since the likes of Kirk Herbstreit, Joey Galloway, Rece Davis, and Nicole Auerbach have all officially jumped aboard the Notre Dame train.

Why is Notre Dame Such a Popular Pick?

When you combine Notre Dame's story from last year - being robbed of a College Football Playoff spot - with star quarterback CJ Carr returning, a favorable schedule, and the most talented team this program has seen in decades, you can see why a Notre Dame pick is popular.

Joey Galloway the analyst who stood up for ND on the CFP Rankings Show, confronted Kirk Herbstreit today over the Irish missing the Playoffs. He says there won't be a more pissed of team than Notre Dame this year.

Kirk:
"Why?"

Galloway: “They/you left them out of the CFP last… pic.twitter.com/83nINjoALS

— CathVSConf☘️ (@CathVSConf) August 25, 2026

Marcus Freeman has this program humming at its highest level in what feels like ages and its knocking on the door of winning its first national championship since 1988.

As someone who lived through it, it feels a bit how the Chicago Cubs were treated by much of the national media before the 2016 season in which they won their first World Series in 108 years.

Even with being the favorite to do it, the Cubs still had to rally from down 2-1 in the National League Championship Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, and come back from a 3-1 deficit to Cleveland in the World Series.

Notre Dame might be the favorite in many expert's eyes, but plenty of other worthy contenders are right there as well.

Notre Dame is the Safest Pick of Perhaps All

It was just a year ago that several experts had Clemson, Penn State, and Texas picked to win the national championship.

As you may recall, Clemson bellyflopped in a Week 1 loss to LSU and never fully recovered and never contended for a CFP spot.

Put pen to paper and made my official preseason CFP predictions ... https://t.co/QTsSDImrxj pic.twitter.com/Yr0xSJBp1E

— Nicole Auerbach (@NicoleAuerbach) August 27, 2026

Penn State fired head coach James Franklin after dropping games to Oregon, UCLA, and Northwestern, and failing to contend for that elusive title.

And Texas lost the opener at Ohio State before dropping another contest to Georiga and getting rocked by a lowly Florida squad to keep it from the College Football Playoff.

When you look at Notre Dame, it might not be a lock to win the national championship, but if these experts are trying to save face and take the safest pick to get to the CFP and perhaps make at least the quarterfinals if nothing else, there might not be a safer pick to save face with than Notre Dame.

Nick Shepkowski's Quick Thought

What I find most interesting in perhaps all of this is that last December, Kirk Herbstreit spent the SEC Championship Game telecast politicking for Alabama to get in the College Football Playoff despite getting its nose kicked in my Georgia that day, and despite getting destroyed by Florida State in Week 1.

Now, Herbstreit, who essentially was anti-Notre Dame in his speaking not even 12 months ago, is fully on board with the Fighting Irish being the best team in the country?

Anywhere the wind blows...