A Notre Dame National Title Would Drive College Football Crazy

Notre Dame has always been one of college football's most polarizing brands, but the last six months have shown that it's built to be public enemy No. 1.

Dec 20, 2024; Notre Dame, Indiana, USA; The mascot for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the third quarter against the Indiana Hoosiers at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-Imagn Images | Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

Stop me if you've heard this before — a lot of people don't like Notre Dame. Stunning, I know.

Point to any time in the history of the program, and you can copy and paste that sentiment in big, bold letters without any significant pushback.

If you're reading this, you already know why that's the case (independence, high academic standards, winning history, etc.).

But heading into 2026, there's an ascending level of Notre Dame hate for some more topical reasons than usual.

Public Enemy No. 1 in 2026 belongs to the Irish

I know. You always thought Brian Kelly would be leading that type of team. Perhaps him never earning a No. 1 vote in the preseason Associated Press Poll and only earning one victory vs. an AP top-5 team played a part in that (it happened vs. 2020 Clemson when Trevor Lawrence was out with COVID).

But yes, this Marcus Freeman-coached team is in rarified air because of the last six months.

The developments from December didn't exactly help Notre Dame's national approval rating.

Between skipping the Pop-Tarts Bowl after getting left out of the Playoff and then getting the new Playoff provision that the Irish would earn a spot in the field with a top-12 ranking in the final poll, well, the word "elitist" has been used ... a lot.

Shoot, USC reportedly felt so miffed about it that it used it as ammo to suspend the annual rivalry.

That new top-12 stipulation alone would probably have the anti-Notre Dame crowd at a fever pitch this year. After all, it's not like anybody else has an automatic entry into the Playoff for achieving a certain feat.

Oh, wait. Last I checked, the five highest-ranked conference champs all get a spot in the field.

Ah, now is the part where the "but Notre Dame should have to join a conference" crowd makes their feelings known. You're up, Bret Bielema!

Some guys really like to talk about something that could happen and who they might play…. Actually it’s pretty easy just join a conference 🤷‍♂️👊🤷‍♂️ https://t.co/QMh8KEMiR3

— Bret Bielema (@BretBielema) June 4, 2026

Bielema, as he's done on multiple occasions with Notre Dame-related clips this offseason, also clearly just read a tweet without listening to what was said (go back to what he incorrectly tweeted about Jeremiyah Love).

What Bielema didn't grasp was that Notre Dame AD Pete Bevacqua said that he certainly didn't want a "Super League," and that he wasn't sure that anybody wanted a Super League.

Instead of listening to what the former president and chairman of NBC Sports said about the TV value of a Super League, Bielema turned it into the oldest argument in the book. Based on the 391,000 people (and counting) who viewed that tweet, Bielema's post made the rounds.

(The irony is that Illinois and Notre Dame play the same number of Power Conference teams in 2026, yet the former faces an FCS foe as one of its three non-conference games ... but details are irrelevant when narratives are to be made.)

There's something else at the root of Notre Dame's public opposition that's relevant in 2026, which could potentially be both the last year of the 12-team Playoff and the only time that new Irish-related stipulation could come into play.

This could be the most hyped Notre Dame team in 20 years ... and it's deserved

I've already declared that the Irish could be in a position to get the program's first No. 1 vote in the preseason AP Poll since 2006. That actually shows that Notre Dame isn't as historically overhyped as one might argue, though that'll be lost on the Bielemas of the college football world.

The context that'll be lost is that Notre Dame enters 2026 having won 34 games the last three seasons, which is the highest total in a 3-year stretch in program history. Go figure that none of those teams started with a top-5 ranking.

This one? It should. Take preseason national title odds for what they are, but the Irish being No. 2 on that list — FanDuel has the Irish at +700 — isn't just brand bias.

It's not just that the Irish are technically riding a 10-game winning streak after dropping a pair of 1-score games to Playoff-bound teams, nor is it just that CJ Carr is back as one of the top returning quarterbacks in the sport.

It's not even just that the Irish are No. 1 in FBS in ESPN's percentage of returning production metric (Clemson held that title last year en route to a 7-6 season).

What's worth shifting the preseason discussion is that Freeman owns three victories vs. AP top 5 teams. From 1999-2021, Notre Dame had two such victories (2-21 vs. AP top 5). Freeman's 16 wins vs. ranked foes in four seasons matched the total that Kelly had in his last eight seasons on the job.

Only relevant teams are hated. A team with a (mostly) custom-built schedule who has a new Playoff guarantee would indeed trigger the masses if it won a national title for the first time since 1988.

Perhaps it wouldn't be as "us against the world" as 2023 Michigan was — a few other off-the-field developments played a major role in that squad's public perception — but part of the opposition to that team nationally was not wanting to see the traditional powerhouse program earn its first undisputed national title since 1948 (1997 was a split title with Nebraska).

Copy and paste that sentiment for 2026 Notre Dame as it pursues its first title in 38 years.

Don't expect that public opposition to fade until the national title path closes. And what if it doesn't close after Notre Dame's new stipulation helps it earn a spot in the field, you ask?

The college football world will lose its collective mind.