Big News for the Fighting Irish

Notre Dame Football: 2025 Season Will Define the Irish Early

The 2025 season will be a critical one for Notre Dame, with its early schedule playing a major role in shaping the national perception of the team.

After an exciting 2024 College Football Playoff run, the Irish will be under intense scrutiny from the get-go in 2025. Their road opener at Miami, followed by a bye week and a home game against Texas A&M, will set the stage for how the rest of the country views Notre Dame’s chances.

The key question will be whether Notre Dame was a flash-in-the-pan team in 2024 or if they have the staying power to make another run at the College Football Playoff. While the Irish certainly have the talent to win these high-profile games, there are still plenty of unknowns to address.

How will the new defense under Chris Ash perform early on? And who will step up as the starting quarterback—especially one who’s yet to be named—during these high-pressure early games?

Early-Season Reactions Will Be Overblown

It’s no secret that early-season results in college football tend to get exaggerated. Fans and media outlets, starved for the return of the sport, often jump to conclusions after just a few weeks, with predictions that don’t always hold true over the full season.

Notre Dame’s 2024 season is a perfect example. After a surprising loss to NIU in Week 2, many wrote off the Irish as playoff contenders. But the team responded by improving throughout the season, ultimately shifting the narrative back in their favor.

It’s very possible that Notre Dame will experience some growing pains, particularly with a new quarterback and adjustments on defense. However, I believe the 2025 Irish squad will only improve as the season progresses. It would be a big mistake for anyone to write them off too early, especially after seeing how they bounced back in 2024.