At the end of the movie Apollo 13, Tom Hanks narrates as Flight Commander James Lovell and notes that after the crew safely back to Earth, the mission was categorized as a “successful failure”.

Notre Dame didn’t reach its ultimate goal in 2024 as the Fighting Irish fell one game short of ending their national championship drought that now reaches 37 years. That doesn’t mean major steps towards the ultimate goal weren’t taken.

Notre Dame’s National Narrative Indisputably Changed

The 2024 season ended in frustrating fashion with Notre Dame falling to Ohio State 34-23 in the National Championship game.

Despite the loss in the final college football game of the year, Notre Dame changed how the nation views Fighting Irish football on the biggest stage. Wins over SEC Champion Georgia and Penn State in the Sugar and Orange Bowls respectively were Notre Dame’s two biggest victories in the last 30 years.

With those accomplishments the narrative is no longer that Notre Dame doesn’t deserve to be on the biggest stage, but instead that it can legitimately compete in them for the crowned jewel.

Notre Dame is Suddenly Likeable

Because its independent and has a rich history, Notre Dame will always have a certain amount of college football fans that root against it. At other times the leadership of the football program has made the team harder for a more neutral college football fan to get behind.

Enter Marcus Freeman and his lack of excuses while also pushing to raise expectations and you’ve got something to work with. Factor in that Freeman actually comes across as honest and caring with his players and you can see why Notre Dame clearly isn’t as disliked on a national level as it was a few short years ago, despite being an improved program.

Notre Dame Depth Chart Has Grown

Think back to 2018 when an undefeated Notre Dame team met Clemson in the College Football Playoff. Trailing 3-0 in the second quarter, Notre Dame All-American defensive back Julian Love left the game with an injury and his replacement was immediately targeted by Clemson. By the time you were done blinking the Tigers had erupted to quickly put the game out of reach – and Notre Dame’s lack of depth was as much to blame as anything for it.

2024 Notre Dame was a prime example of the importance of depth coming through. At no point in college football history has depth been as important as it is now, as 16 games are now required to play for a national championship. Notre Dame lost loads of talent due to season ending injuries this season, but because of the improved depth it was within one score of national champion Ohio State with just minutes to play in the title game.

Jaden Greathouse’s Late Season Emergence

Entering the Orange Bowl, Notre Dame had gone since the Sun Bowl victory over Oregon State in December of 2023 since it had a receiver record a 100-yard receiving game.

Since the Orange Bowl sophomore wide receiver Jaden Greathouse now has a pair of such games.

Greathouse hauled in 13 receptions for 233 yards and three touchdowns over the last two games and sets the stage for a breakout season as he gets prepared to enter his junior year at Notre Dame.

Finally, some improved talent at wide receiver, perhaps?

Notre Dame’s Young Talent is Elite

Building off of the Greathouse point, Notre Dame’s young talent is clearly evident to everyone who watches. Jeremiyah Love is a superstar running back who will be among the nation’s best in 2025.

Underclassmen played a big role early on in 2024, but those roles only grew as the injuries of the season piled up. They finally caught up with Notre Dame in the national championship game against a loaded Ohio State team, but the young talent that was forced into significant playing time in 2024 only does this program favors in the years to come.

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