What Will Notre Dame's Offensive Identity Be In 2026?

Notre Dame finds itself in a very interesting spot offensively in 2026. While the Irish will bring back their starting quarterback for the first time since the Ian Book era, Notre Dame has lost its dynamic duo backfield of Jeremiyah Love and JD Price to the NFL.

Will Notre Dame and Mike Denbrock lean into CJ Carr's natural strength, his passing ability, or will the Irish continue to run the ball with the same regularity as it did in 2025 with both backs? Let's examine the different ways Notre Dame could approach this.

Notre Dame needs to open it up

Right now, CJ Carr is tied for having the best odds of winning the Heisman trophy in 2026. Besides just Carr's natural passing ability, the wide receiver room just added two five-star talents from Ohio State into the mix with Quincy Porter and Mylan Graham. With better injury luck, the Irish offensive line should be very strong in an effort to help the cause.

Mike Denbrock likes to throw the ball. 2026 may be the year he feels he can really open up Notre Dame's offense now that he has the quarterback and athletic enough receivers and enough of them that he can be confident in calling more of these plays.

Depending on how the season goes, CJ Carr may be heading for the NFL draft next offseason. He's a Heisman favorite for a reason, and I think Mike Denbrock will playcall with this in mind.

2026 HEISMAN ODDS ARE HERE 🚨

CJ Carr & Arch Manning lead the way 😤 pic.twitter.com/yNWFGeh9Uq
— FanDuel Sportsbook (@FDSportsbook) January 20, 2026

Notre Dame's DNA is the run game

It would be true to state that in modern Notre Dame history, most of the Irish teams that had success at or near an elite level were all led by a power run game offensively. This is a fact. That being said, in these years, the run game had to be the focal point of the offense because Notre Dame didn't feature a dynamic receiving corps and or good enough passing quarterbacks to make the pass game more of a focus.

Notre Dame is going to miss Jeremiyah Love and JD Price. Aneyas Williams and a stable of young backs on the rise will do a great job, but it won't be at Jeremiyah Love's level. That isn't a slight to these players, but rather a compliment to Love, who is a generational player.

The reality in 2026 is that Notre Dame finally has options. It will have the athletes and line play needed to be able to run or pass to set up either the run or pass.

Mike Denbrock will try to load up CJ Carr's pass game numbers in '26, as he should, but the Irish won't disregard the run game.

It will still be a key part of how the Irish operate, especially in short-yardage situations, but I do think we are going to see a very aggressive air attack fill up the highlight reels next fall. This kind of Notre Dame offense is what has been missing. An Irish offense that can do it all. Enjoy the show, folks.