Can Notre Dame Turn an Elite Season into an Elite Program in 2025?

Irish still have a lot to prove

Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr during the Notre Dame Blue-Gold spring football game at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, April 12, 2025, in South Bend. | MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Notre Dame's expectations entering the 2025 season are sky high, and understandably so after a terrific finish to the 2024 season in which an oft-injured Irish team fell just short of winning the national title. In 2025, anything short of a College Football Playoff (CFP) appearance and commensurate run would be a letdown.

The Irish are in an interesting place. The foundation of the program is rock solid, and the talent and depth levels are rapidly rising. That being said, there are many moving parts and question marks entering 2025 that could derail the dream of a repeated CFP run even in the midst of all the objective good that's going on in South Bend.

Our 2025 home game times are SET ☘️👀

📆 Mark your calendars 📆

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— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) May 12, 2025

Notre Dame needs to demonstrate staying power

In 2025, if Notre Dame can show that despite featuring a new defensive coordinator, a first-time starting quarterback, a banged-up offensive line, and a tough early schedule to be a CFP title contender, it will solidify itself as a perennial top-five elite team. This would be a reload, not a rebuild, and would show that despite plenty of moving pieces, the program is durable and talented enough to adjust while still competing at an elite clip.

Standards have always been high for Notre Dame, but not always realistic given some of the positions the program has found itself in the last three decades. This feels different and looks different. All that's left now is for Notre Dame to prove it under the biggest magnifying glass in the sport.