Josh Pate Ranks No. 1 College Football Program After Spring Practices

A surprising top pick leads Pate's post-spring rankings

Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame have Pate's No. 1 pick heading out of spring practice. | MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

With spring practice complete, the race to No. 1 is on. While Texas can attest from a season ago that being the consensus preseason No. 1 isn't necessarily all it's cracked up to be, it's still always a sign of prestige to be considered the top program in the nation.

Most preseason predictions have been placing Ohio State atop the national rankings. The Buckeyes do lose most of their starting defense, but the return of Heisman candidate Julian Sayin at QB, perhaps the nation's top player in the nation in Jeremiah Smith at WR, and 1,000-yard rusher Bo Jackson in the backfield, Ohio State has been too stacked for many predictors to pass them by.

Pate's Surprising No. 1

But college football analyst Josh Pate dropped his own rankings and he has the Buckeyes at just #4. Pate has gone in another direction entirely with Notre Dame as his preseason No. 1 team. The Irish, a season after just missing out on the College Football Playoff field, figure to be in the thick of the 2026 season's top programs.

🚨POST-SPRING COMMISSIONER’S POLL🚨 pic.twitter.com/4vmLJpLHoH

— Josh Pate (@JoshPateCFB) May 4, 2026

The Case for Notre Dame

Much of Notre Dame's hopes have to start with QB CJ Carr. Carr earned the starting nod for the Irish as a redshirt freshman who had yet to throw a collegiate pass. He then threw for 2,741 yards and 24 touchdowns against just six interceptions. Carr was competitive even in Notre Dame's season-opening losses and he developed across the course of the remainder of the slate.

Running back Aneyas Williams brings back his 9.3 yards per carry from last season and leading receiver Jordan Faison is back for another season. Defensive end Boubacar Traore had 10 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks in 2025 and could potentially double those numbers in 2026.

Notre Dame's Schedule

Notre Dame's schedule shapes up well for a competitive 2026 run, with only three teams from Pate's top 25 on the schedule. Notre Dame doesn't have any tough foes in the opening half of the schedule and will be favored to open 6-0. Two of the three ranked foes have to come to Notre Dame, with Miami and SMU coming to town in November. The sole road foe in Pate's ranking is BYU, which opens at No. 14 in Pate's preseason forecast.

While Notre Dame and coach Marcus Freeman were the last team out of the 2025 CFP field, Freeman impressed in the 2024 CFP, taking down Indiana, Georgia, and Penn State to lead the Irish to the national title game before falling to Ohio State. Pate's prediction for 2026 seems to expect similar results.