Historic College Football Powerhouse Receives 16 Votes to Win National Championship

More than 50 college football experts weighed in this offseason on who will win the 2026 national championship, and one program pulled ahead of every other pick by a wide margin.

LSU, Georgia, Miami, Indiana, Texas, Ohio State and Oregon all drew multiple picks according to a compilation of expert selections by On3's Thomas Goldkamp. None of them came close to matching the volume one team received.

That program is Notre Dame, tabbed by 16 separate analysts as the team most likely to hoist the trophy, more than double the next-closest contender.

Notre Dame draws picks from ESPN, CBS Sports and The Athletic

Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman waits in the tunnel before the Blue-Gold game at Notre Dame Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Fighting Irish picks span nearly every major outlet in the sport, including Kirk Herbstreit, Rece Davis and Bill Connelly of ESPN, Brad Crawford of CBS Sports and Bruce Feldman of The Athletic and FOX Sports.

Several picked Notre Dame over a specific opponent. Joel Klatt and Bruce Feldman both went with the Irish over Oregon, and Brad Crawford did the same. Booger McFarland and David Cone each picked Notre Dame over Texas. Kirk Herbstreit picked the Irish over Indiana, the defending champion.

The reasoning tracks with where Notre Dame sits heading into the season. The Irish are ranked fourth in the preseason AP poll, their highest starting position since 2006.

They missed last year's College Football Playoff only because a head-to-head loss to Miami in Week 1 tipped the selection committee toward the Hurricanes for the final at-large spot. That happened despite Notre Dame finishing with a better record and a higher ranking. Marcus Freeman's team won its final ten games of 2025 and enters this season with a chip firmly in place.

CJ Carr, Leonard Moore lead Notre Dame's returning core

Notre Dame Fighting Irish cornerback Leonard Moore (15) celebrates scoring against the Syracuse Orange during the first half at Notre Dame Stadium. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Quarterback CJ Carr returns for his second year as the full-time starter after throwing for 2,741 yards, 24 touchdowns and six interceptions on 66.6 percent completion in 2025. His 9.4 yards per attempt ranked second nationally among qualifying passers.

ESPN's returning production data shows Notre Dame bringing back last season's top target in Jordan Faison, along with players who accounted for 42 of 60 offensive line starts. The Irish did lose running backs Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price to the NFL Draft. Research on roster continuity shows turnover at running back tends to matter less than losses at other positions.

Cornerback Leonard Moore anchors a defense that returns 14 of the 21 players who logged at least 200 snaps a year ago. Moore led the team with five interceptions and seven pass breakups last season despite missing two games, and he earned unanimous All-American honors.

He was tabbed a preseason All-American again by ESPN, The Athletic, Sporting News and Walter Camp heading into 2026. Freeman also added outside pieces on defense, including Pitt defensive tackle Francis Brewu and Colorado cornerback DJ McKinney.

Notre Dame opens the season against Wisconsin on September 6 in a Shamrock Series game at Lambeau Field. Its toughest tests come later, with No. 14 BYU on the road October 17 and No. 7 Miami visiting South Bend on November 7 for a rematch of the loss that shaped last year's playoff conversation.

Fighting Irish national championship picks by expert

David Cone, On3 (over Texas)
Joel Klatt, FOX Sports (over Oregon)
Kirk Herbstreit, ESPN (over Indiana)
Brad Crawford, CBS Sports (over Oregon)
Booger McFarland, ESPN (over Texas)
Bruce Feldman, The Athletic and FOX Sports (over Oregon)
Andrea Adelson, ESPN
Bill Connelly, ESPN
David Hale, ESPN
Adam Rittenberg, ESPN
Rece Davis, ESPN
Stanford Steve, ESPN
Will Compton, Bussin’ With The Boys
Pat Forde, Sports Illustrated
Nicole Auerbach, NBC Sports
Brady Quinn, FOX Sports

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