Notre Dame Trying to Buck History with Preseason AP Poll Ranking

The Associated Press preseason top 25 poll was released ahead of the 2026 college football season on Monday, and as expected, Notre Dame checks in very near the top.

Notre Dame came in fourth in the initial poll, one of the highest preseason rankings the Fighting Irish have had in recent memory.

Since 1993, Notre Dame has ranked in the preseason top five just three other times, with each ending in significant disappointment.

Marcus Freeman, CJ Carr, and the rest of the Notre Dame squad will look to avoid disappointment this time around.

More on that shortly; first, let's look at the entire top 25.

Preseason AP Poll Top 25

1. Ohio State
2. Oregon
3. Georgia
4. Notre Dame
5. Texas
6. Indiana
7. Miami (FL)
8. Texas A&M
9. Ole Miss
10. Oklahoma
11. LSU
12. Texas Tech
13. Alabama
14. BYU
14. USC
16. Michigan
17. Washington
18. Penn State
19. SMU
20. Tennessee
21. Utah
22. Iowa
23. Houston
24. Louisville
25. Missouri

Notre Dame's Most Recent Top Four Starts in AP Poll

4️⃣ in the AP Poll#GoIrish☘️ pic.twitter.com/y9Twucipeb
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) August 17, 2026

It hasn't been often that Notre Dame has been ranked this high in the preseason rankings, specifically the AP Poll.

This is just the fourth time since 1993 that Notre Dame has landed in the preseason top five.

Let's hope this season ends a lot differently than the last three did.

1994 Notre Dame Football: Disaster After No. 2 Ranking

After being robbed of the 1993 national championship, Notre Dame began the 1994 campaign ranked No. 2 in the land. It was the first year of the Ron Powlus era as starting quarterback and after being stunned in the final seconds by Michigan in Week 2, things went south.

After rallying to a 4-1 mark after the loss to Michigan, Notre Dame stumbled with losses at Boston College and to BYU. A 17-17 tie against USC marked the first time a Lou Holtz team didn't beat the Trojans, and a 41-24 loss to Colorado in the Fiesta Bowl capped what was ultimately a 6-5-1 season.

2006 Notre Dame Football: 10 Wins but 3 Blowout Losses

Notre Dame looked the part of a national title contender when it blew the doors off Penn State in Week 2 of the 2006 season, moving to 2-0 and back to the No. 2 ranking nationally

However, Michigan came to South Bend and took the Fighting Irish's lunch money in Week 3, blasting Notre Dame 47-21.

Notre Dame would ultimately go 10-3 on the year, but combine to lose those three games to Michigan, USC, and LSU by 73 points.

2022 Notre Dame Football: Season Rebounds After Starting with Flop

Part of me in convinced Notre Dame was only ranked No. 5 to start the 2022 season because of how Brian Kelly left for LSU. Whatever the case, it wasn't one of the five best teams in the nation.

After challenging Ohio State in Week 1, Notre Dame was stunned by Marshall one week later. It would also fall to Stanford midway through the year in an embarrassing upset.

It would rally to finish the season 9-4 after beating South Carolina in the Gator Bowl, but with a final ranking of No. 18, it was a far cry from where it began the year.

Nick Shepkowski's Quick Thoughts

When you look at Notre Dame in recent years, it gets pegged as "overrated" by some because when it has extremely high expectations, those are the years it has failed to produce in for the longest time.

With what Notre Dame has on its roster, the No. 4 spot in the rankings is plenty fair.

Now can Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame produce at that level in a year that it's actually supposed to?

That's something this program hasn't done since the early part of the 1990s.

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