Is Notre Dame Cursed After Coming So Close Last Season?

If you're a Notre Dame fan and believe in curses, this article is going to sting a little.

Texas A&M fans celebrates after a touchdown in the first half of a NCAA football game against Notre Dame at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025, in South Bend. | MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Whether or not you believe in curses, Deadspin writer Kyle Kensing made an astute observation about how a runner-up hangover is real in football. And it's not just in college, it's in the pros too. Both the Kansas City Chiefs -- who lost to the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl -- and Notre Dame Fighting Irish -- who lost to Ohio State in the National Championship -- are 0-2.

The same goes for the San Antonio Brahmas of the United Football League. The Brahmas lost to the Birmingham Stallions in the 2024 UFL Championship Game and then finished with the worst record in the league the following season at 1-9.

I expect Notre Dame to win more than one game this year, but it's clear the odds aren't in their favor based on how past runners-up have done the following season.

In fact, each of the last two runners-up in the four-team playoff era -- TCU and Washington -- finished under .500 the following year.

Notre Dame Starts 0-2: Are the Fighting Irish Victims of a Runner-Up Curse?https://t.co/MQx8OW04aF

— Deadspin (@Deadspin) September 15, 2025

And both Alabama in 2022 and Ohio State in 2021 failed to return to the National Championship Game after settling for second place the year before, too. The Crimson Tide lost to Georgia in the National Championship Game and didn't make the Final Four the following season. The Buckeyes had to settle for a Rose Bowl appearance against Utah after losing to Alabama in the Big Game the year previous.

Marcus Freeman is the first head coach in Notre Dame history to begin two seasons with an 0-2 record.https://t.co/FoAn6UTYIG pic.twitter.com/k7xlC9qDxs

— Tyler Horka (@tbhorka) September 14, 2025

Obviously, the 12-team CFP field didn't exist back in the day, but if the past speaks for itself, it looks like Notre Dame's 0-2 start might not necessarily be a coincidence. And ND's schedule doesn't get all that much easier moving forward. The Fighting Irish must win out to make the CFP, but they still have to play Boise State, which was ranked at the beginning of the season, North Carolina State, Navy, and USC.

NC State and Navy are both 3-0, and not only are the Trojans 3-0 as well, but they're also ranked No. 25 in the nation and second in the country in scoring (55 points per game). USC might not be all that good defensively, but they certainly have one of the best offenses in the country, and arguably the most explosive one.

There's still a lot of football to be played, but if Notre Dame doesn't turn it around soon, the Irish will simply join a big list of college football teams to fall off mightily the year after making the National Championship Game.