Notre Dame had a chance Saturday night in Provo, Utah, to become the number one team in the country and take the driver's seat in the CFP. Instead, the Irish painfully fell to BYU in prime time. This loss, and how it came to be, lends credence to many of the most common anti-Notre Dame tropes that are consistently delivered about the Irish. Let's explore some of these themes.
Notre Dame is overrated, pumped up by a weak schedule
Notre Dame had the most favorable start to an Irish season that I can remember in my adult life this season. The irish faced six unranked opponents, collected six double-digit wins, and rose to number two in the country. The BYU game was Notre Dame's first big test in which it could have proven it could beat top 10, undefeated ranked teams on the road, not just beat up lesser-thans.
Notre Dame failed this test, lending evidence to the claim that Notre Dame was overranked.
The Notre Dame defense is overrated
From the 2025 season until now, Notre Dame has played four "good" teams. These teams were Miami, Texas A&M, USC, and BYU. In these four games, the Irish defense has allowed an average of 30 PPG. In all of the other games against lesser teams, that number drops all the way to 13.9 PPG.
Numbers don't lie; this is a bad look for Notre Dame's allegedly vaunted defense.
CJ Carr isn't as good as Notre Dame's ecosystem wants you to think
CJ Carr put up really strong numbers in his second start last year against Texas A&M. But in other games vs the best competition on the schedule, the numbers take a dive. There were struggles against Miami, albeit in just Carr's first career start, USC, and BYU.
I would like to note that this isn't just Carr's fault. The Irish receiving corps still scares no defensive coordinator, the tight ends are minimally involved in the pass game, and Mike Denbrock's scheming sometimes leaves much to be desired, as do some personnel decisions. But at the end of the day, if you are "that dude", you find a way to win. The narrative lives on.
Marcus Freeman is overrated as a head coach
There's a lot to appreciate about Marcus Freeman and what he's done at Notre Dame. The 2024 playoff run, in particular, was very impressive, as is the uptick in Irish recruiting. But in terms of getting Notre Dame "over the hump", there are still some issues.
In Notre Dame's last five needle-moving "big games", from the Ohio State title game to Miami and Texas A&M last year, through USC and then BYU this season, the Irish are a very Brian Kelly-ish 1-4. This will be held against Freeman and Notre Dame until the ledger balances out.
Notre Dame is a really good football program with a lot of positive things to appreciate, but it isn't what Irish fans hoped it would be through seven games of 2026. That being said, the Irish will soon get another opportunity in a "big game" when Miami heads to town in a few weeks. If Notre Dame can pull out a win in that moment, the tone will shift big time in the Irish's direction.
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