After making a deep run in the College Football Playoff and playing for a national championship, there are massive expectations on Notre Dame going into the 2025 season. With that, the question is whether or not Notre Dame is going to be able to live up to those expectations.
In 2024, which was the third season for head coach Marcus Freeman, the Irish went 11-1 in the regular season, only suffering an upset loss in September. Notre Dame then won three Playoff games before falling short against Ohio State with a national championship on a line. Now, following that excellent season, Las Vegas has shared its expectations for the Irish in 2025.
At this point, FanDuel has set the 2025 win total for Notre Dame at 10.5 wins. They’re also listed at -210 to go under that win total and +162 to go over that win total.
The season kicks off for Notre Dame on August 31st with a road game against the Miami Hurricanes before the Irish will get an early season bye week. After that, they’ll begin a run of six games in six weeks before getting another bye.
As an Independent, Notre Dame will be playing 12 non-conference games. This season, 10 of those opponents are coming from one of the power conferences. Among the two Group of Five opponents the Irish are set to play, Boise State played in the College Football Playoff in 2024 and Navy is a traditional rival. The Irish will see six ACC teams, two SEC teams, and two Big Ten opponents.
After last season, plenty of experts around the country are all in on Notre Dame moving forward. That includes analyst Kirk Herbstreit.
“I’m all in on what they’ve done. I’ll be incredibly honest and candid, I was raised in this in the 70s and 80s, and Notre Dame football was Alabama, Georgia, Ohio State — whoever you want to say. I mean, they were a different level. Everybody tried to be Notre Dame in that era. I think after the Lou Holtz era, they’ve been searching. They’ve had some moments, you know, when Brady [Quinn] was there with Charlie [Weis]. I mean, they’ve had some good moments, and Brian Kelly had some moments. But I don’t know if I’ve ever felt like this about Notre Dame, as far as since the Lou Holtz era,” Herbstreit said.
“I think they’re scratching the surface. I think he’s only going to build a stronger roster. Kids are drawn to him. They want to play for him. They want to play for that school. I always kind of simplify and say, ‘He’s making Notre Dame cool,’ which sounds like, ‘Whatever.’ But when you can reach 17, 18, 19-year old kids and make a brand — kind of like, ‘Nobody cares about Notre Dame,’ to all of a sudden, the way he carries himself on the sideline. The way his teams represent themselves. I think this is the beginning.”
Fans will get their first look at Notre Dame in 2025 at the Spring Game, which will be played on April 12th.
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