Notre Dame's 2026 Season Is A Marathon Not A Sprint

Now that some time has passed since Notre Dame's opener against Wisconsin, we can begin to settle in and take stock of exactly where this team is starting from as its 2026 journey begins.

In retrospect, despite the first-half frustrations, this game result is actually more impressive than it felt.

The Irish played one half of solid offensive football against a team that is better than many people thought it'd be, and still won by a 41-13 margin in the opposition's home state.

That's a great start, much better than the one a year ago. The reality of this 2026 season is that it's a marathon, not a sprint for the Irish. As long as Notre Dame keeps collecting wins and improves week to week, things are right on schedule.

Many areas of this team will naturally improve week to week

Nobody knows exactly how any team will perform and look in the first game of the year, even coaches.

They may think they know what they have and what to expect, but until the live action hits, nobody knows for sure. Historically speaking for Notre Dame and Marcus Freeman, his Irish teams get better as the season goes on. And not just a little better, a lot better. This is a great sign.

Notre Dame's offensive line is a great example of this. This group will naturally continue to improve weekly the more it plays together. This improvement will aid the entire offense, particularly the running game, massively as the season moves along.

Even in the Wisconsin game itself, big improvements were made from the first half to the second. There's no reason not to expect continued development in this regard.

As for the Irish defense that allowed just 13 points against Wisconsin, there are plenty of things to clean up as the group becomes more cohesive and gains more experience together. They will tighten up quickly and become the backbone of the team once again. I'm fairly certain of this.

The Drive of the Game vs. Wisconsin

4Q | 7:57

1️⃣2️⃣ plays | 8️⃣8️⃣ yards | 6️⃣:0️⃣6️⃣#GoIrish☘️ | @MyCreditUnion1 pic.twitter.com/Z1IYgUEYwA
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) September 8, 2026

Notre Dame's skill positions are still very much a work in progress

For all of the good that took place in Notre Dame's eventual 41-13 victory, there are some areas that are still big question marks. After game one, I feel as though the running back dynamic and usage is still a work in progress.

We saw some good things from Aneyas Williams and Nolan James, but nothing spectacular that solidifies these roles moving forward. I expect running back coach Ja'Juan Seider to continue to mix and match to try to fine-tune the rotation for maximum output.

As for the Notre Dame receiving room, it's still very much in flux as Notre Dame tries to find reliable targets beyond star Jordan Faison. This may be a long-term project as the Irish are still missing a reliable deep over-the-top threat and seek more consistency from the unit overall.

As for now, there's plenty of good to build on from the Wisconsin result, and the Irish should be able to collect fairly easy wins in the next few contests as they continue to iron things out. Notre Dame is in a good place right now, but is nowhere near the finished product, and that's a good thing.

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