Josh Pate Predicts Historic College Football Powerhouse to Win the National Championship

Give college football analyst Josh Pate credit-- his offseason now includes predicting an entire CFP field as well as naming an eventual champion. Pate took his best shot at projecting an entire Playoff field, complete with conference champs, a G5 pick, and at-large selections.

Pate's Pick

Most notably, Pate's projected national champion is Notre Dame. Even Pate couldn't resist a little shade at the Irish's schedule, noting, "It's almost like the schedule didn't matter once the Playoffs started."

Notre Dame is slated to face only three teams that open the season in the coaches' poll top 25. The big game is No. 7 Miami at home, with a road matchup at No. 15 BYU, and a home battle with No. 20 SMU also on tap.

Pate's Projected CFP Field

Pate has Notre Dame slated as his No. 1 CFP seed, with the other top four seeds earning the CFP double-bye as Ohio State, Georgia, and Miami. Pate projects BYU to earn the Big 12's spot in the Playoff, with Boise State earning the Group of Five slot. That left at-large bids for Texas, Oklahoma, and LSU from the SEC and for Indiana, Oregon, and USC from the Big Ten.

His Path for Notre Dame

Josh Pate projects Notre Dame and QB CJ Carr to claim a national title. (Michael Caterina-Imagn Images) | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

According to Pate's preseason projections, Notre Dame would best Texas in the CFP title game, but only after a doubtlessly memorable projected semifinal matchup. Calling the projected game "the biggest occurence since the birth of Larry Bird in the state of Indiana," Pate projects Notre Dame to outlast in-state foe Indiana in the CFP semifinal.

Before such a semifinal, Pate first thinks Notre Dame would outlast No. 8 CFP seed Oregon in quarterfinal play. Pate termed that game part of "an insane second round, but projected the Irish for the pivotal victory.

Heading into the 2026 season, Notre Dame opens the season at No. 5 in the coaches poll. The Irish do lose a pair of outstanding runnings backs in Jeremiyah Love and Jadarian Price, but return highly regarded QB C.J. Carr, who threw for 2,741 yards and 24 touchdowns as a redshirt freshman in 2025 for the Irish. Also back is top receiver Jordan Faison (49 catches for 640 yards last season).

But Marcus Freeman's Irish stand to set themselves apart on defense. The Irish have held foes under 18 points per game in each of the last three seasons and will return lockdown CB Leonard Moore and standout safety Tae Johnson among others.

Pate is bullish on the Irish, even if he does draw up a challenging path. He noted that he figures the Irish will remember the CFP slighting after the 2025 season and should have plenty of motivation heading into 2026.

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