What's Next for Notre Dame

It’s early September in South Bend. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish, a program with many decades of history, are playing the Northern Illinois Huskies, a Group of Five opponent.

The game is within its final minute. Senior kicker Kanon Woodill trots out to attempt a 35-yard field goal for Northern Illinois.

Woodill faces the goalposts from the right hashmark, lines up the kick and knocks it right through. The Fighting Irish would attempt to drive down the field in the final 30 seconds, setting up a 62-yard Mitch Jeter field goal attempt that is blocked by the Huskies.

Game over. Northern Illinois wins 16-14 in a stunned Notre Dame Stadium.

The loss presented a huge question for the Fighting Irish: If the team can right the ship, is the shocking upset loss enough to force Notre Dame out of the College Football Playoff?

Fast forward to Jan. 20, in Mercedes-Benz Stadium and the aforementioned question is answered. Notre Dame is facing off against Ohio State in the CFP National Championship. The Fighting Irish lose 34-23 but the resilience after the NIU loss is nothing short of impressive.

Notre Dame won 13 consecutive games after the shocking loss. Six of the wins in that stretch came over ranked opponents.

The Fighting Irish put together a season to remember, but the key is sustaining success. Expectations are even higher as a blue-blood program.

There will surely be concerns about the dreaded “championship game hangover” among some of the Notre Dame faithful, but is this a legitimate concern?

Consider the teams that competed in last year’s championship game. Michigan and Washington both entered the contest at 14-0.

This season, the Wolverines finished 8-5, while the Huskies dropped to 6-7. This is certainly a significant regression for both teams, but there is more to consider.

Washington underwent a wholesale coaching change, while Michigan also lost head coach Jim Harbaugh and defensive coordinator Jesse Minter. This is coupled with the fact that both teams dealt with the departure of a considerable amount of talent on the field, including quarterbacks who both became top-10 picks in the NFL draft.

Notre Dame will be dealt similar but not identical cards going into the 2025 season.

It was recently reported that defensive coordinator Al Golden will be taking the same job with the Cincinnati Bengals. Quarterback Riley Leonard is headed to the NFL Draft along with Jack Kiser, Xavier Watts, Beaux Collins and Howard Cross III.

Wide receivers Jayden Thomas and Deion Colzie and offensive lineman Sam Pendleton have announced their likely departures via the transfer portal.

However, head coach Marcus Freeman is staying put in South Bend, while offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock looks to be staying with the program.

It is also worth noting that, despite the key departures on the field, Notre Dame does have the 12th-ranked 2025 recruiting class, according to 247 Sports. Although it is early, the Fighting Irish currently have the ninth-ranked 2026 recruiting class as well.

The Irish have compiled numerous transfer portal additions. At the same time, redshirt sophomore quarterback and potential 2025 starter Steve Angeli has looked poised in a limited amount of game action over the past two seasons.

The sustained success of Notre Dame can largely be attributed to the strengths of their 39-year-old head coach. Freeman has hardly missed a beat in taking over a program with so much history in his first head coaching job.

He currently sports a 33-10 record through his first three full seasons at the helm of the program while upholding the ideals of the Notre Dame tradition through gestures such as reinstituting pregame mass.

In addition, down years have been relatively foreign to the Fighting Irish. The team’s last losing season came in 2016. Prior to that year, the blue and gold had not finished under .500 since 2007.

It’s hard to see an end to Notre Dame’s winning trajectory. A trip to the national championship game is likely not the pinnacle but only the start of what could be an exciting era of Notre Dame football.

Isaac Hallock is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email idh5055@psu.edu.