Notre Dame Ranks 8th In the Sports Illustrated Way-Too-Early Top 25

Notre Dame finished the 2023 season with a 10-3 record and ranked 14th in the both the Associated Press and Coaches Poll, but prognosticators believe the Irish will be even better in 2024. So far every Way-Too-Early Top 25 that I've seen has Notre Dame ranked in the Top 10, and that's also true for Sports Illustrated.

Sports Illustrated had Notre Dame ranked 8th in its Way-Too-Early Top 25 from Pat Forde.

"Riley Leonard is this year’s ACC transfer quarterback, following Sam Hartman last year. Leonard is a good athlete and productive runner who still has some proving to do as a passer, but the return of Mike Denbrock as offensive coordinator after two seasons at LSU could be just what he needs to take the next step. The Fighting Irish defense was strong in 2023 and should remain so, especially in the secondary. At a time when most schedules are getting much tougher, Notre Dame’s is largely the same in terms of number of heavyweight opponents. Look for the Irish to have one of the best records in the country." - Pat Forde, SI

There are three Notre Dame opponents in the SI Top 25 as well.

Florida State remains Notre Dame's highest ranked opponent in the early Top 25 lists. According to SI, the Seminoles rank 14th in the first look at preseason rankings. Louisville ranks 23rd and USC ranks 25th in the SI Top 25.

Notre Dame gets a chance at redemption against Louisville when the Cardinals travel to South Bend on September 28th. Notre Dame also hosts the Seminoles on November 9th before finishing the regular season with a November 30th road game at USC.

Notre Dame ranked 18th in the final polls in year one of the Marcus Freeman tenure and jumped up to 14th in year two. It would seem another jump is expected by analysts in year three. Of course, finishing in the Top 10, as is being projected, would mean Notre Dame earns a College Football Playoff next season with the CFP moving to 12 teams. If Notre Dame finishes 8th or higher, like it is with SI, it would host a first round game.

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