These Two Disturbing Trends Must End For Notre Dame to Have an Amazing Season

Marcus Freeman has his eyes set on a deep CFP run in year five, but his Irish need to do two key things better.

Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman during the Blue-Gold spring game at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, April 25, 2026, in South Bend. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

When the preseason college football rankings are released in the very near future, Notre Dame will be a top-five team. This will be an Irish team featuring a Heisman hopeful quarterback in CJ Carr and a team that overall is one of the preseason title favorites.

Expectations in South Bend are always high, but this particular year feels different. It feels like Notre Dame's time to shine and for good reason. The roster is talented and deep, and the schedule appears favorable and manageable.

Notre Dame must win every game in September

For as many legitimate reasons as there are for Irish optimism, Notre Dame and Marcus Freeman are far from a finished product, and there are some areas of improvement that are non-negotiable if Notre Dame expects to match or exceed the lofty goals for 2026.

Marcus Freeman has accomplished many really good things at Notre Dame, from his elite record against the spread to his vast collection of ranked wins and a deep playoff run that collected more major postseason bowl wins in three weeks than the program has had in the last 30 years combined. For all of these positives, there is a negative outlier.

The month of September.

Under Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame has lost games in September to highly ranked elite teams such as Ohio State, Miami, and Texas A&M. While disappointing, it isn't a complete shock for any team to lose to these talented rosters.

But then there are also the unfathomable September losses to Marshall and NIU, both at home nonetheless. Each season under Freeman has featured at least one September defeat.

This data indicates a disturbing trend, and one that must end in 2026. For whatever reason, Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame have had a problem navigating September successfully, whether it be against elite or lower-level competition, and this must end in 2026.

For as good as the Irish program has become, it cannot continue to put itself behind the playoff eight-ball, playing catch-upright out of the gate.

The 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣6️⃣ Notre Dame Football schedule is here ☘️

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Notre Dame must defend home field more consistently

Another somewhat overlapping issue that Marcus Freeman must address is suffering losses in Notre Dame Stadium.

Dropping games to Texas A&M and Ohio State in South Bend is one thing, but allowing Marshall, Stanford, and Northern Illinois to escape with wins in the house Rockne built is a problem, and one that must be resolved quickly.

Despite these concerning trends, there is reason for optimism. First, Notre Dame will field its best team of the Freeman era in 2026, and that alone should be a big boost.

Additionally, the Irish's schedule is very light this September, leading one to believe that for the first time in his career, Freeman should be able to win out in the season's first month.

And regarding protecting home field, Notre Dame's two toughest home games vs Miami and SMU come well into the second half of the season, and Freeman's teams tend to play better and get stronger as seasons move into October and November.

Notre Dame is a title favorite for good reason, but nothing is promised. The Irish must improve in these areas, and nobody is more aware of that than Marcus Freeman.