Notre Dame has spent years hearing the same criticism: join a conference, play a conference schedule and stop getting special treatment.
Looking at the Fighting Irish’s 2026 schedule isn’t exactly going to quiet those people down.
Notre Dame enters the season ranked No. 5 in the preseason Coaches Poll, yet its path to the College Football Playoff looks remarkably manageable for a program being treated like one of the country’s premier national championship contenders.
Just look at this schedule.
Wisconsin. Rice. Michigan State. Purdue. North Carolina. Stanford. BYU. Navy. Miami. Boston College. SMU. Syracuse. That’s the entire regular season, with the official schedule confirming six true home games plus neutral-site games against Wisconsin and Navy.
Where is the gauntlet?
There are certainly a few legitimate challenges. BYU on the road in Provo could be dangerous. Miami comes to South Bend on Nov. 7, and SMU visits two weeks later. Opening against Wisconsin at Lambeau Field isn’t exactly a free win either.
But for a team ranked fifth in the country?
This is soft.
There is no Georgia. No Ohio State. No Texas. No Oregon. No Alabama. No Penn State. And perhaps most noticeably, there’s no USC, removing the annual rivalry game that traditionally gives Notre Dame another marquee opponent. Even some Notre Dame-focused coverage has acknowledged that the schedule isn’t particularly difficult on paper.
Instead, the Irish get Rice, Purdue, North Carolina, Stanford, Navy, Boston College and Syracuse making up more than half their schedule.
Meanwhile, Notre Dame doesn’t have to navigate an SEC, Big Ten, Big 12 or ACC conference schedule. There is no conference championship game waiting at the end of the regular season, either.
That makes the expectations pretty simple.
Notre Dame better make the College Football Playoff.
After finishing 10-2 and missing the CFP last season, there should be very little patience for another near-miss. If the Irish are actually the top-five team they’re being advertised as, 10-2 should be the absolute minimum against this slate.
Really, 11-1 should be the expectation.
Anything worse brings up some serious questions.
Notre Dame has enough talent to compete for a national championship. Marcus Freeman has built the program into a legitimate contender, and the Irish are once again being discussed among the teams capable of reaching the playoff. ESPN recently included Notre Dame among the programs with both the roster and schedule to make a CFP run.
Now look at the road standing between them and that opportunity.
If Notre Dame can’t make the playoff with this schedule, the criticism won’t just be loud.
It’ll be deserved.
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