Notre Dame Defensive Position Group Rankings - Rising and Falling Teams In College Football
· Yahoo Sports
Another week of the 2026 offseason has come to a close and we had a loaded show this afternoon to close out this week. Earlier this week, we ranked the Notre Dame position groups on the offensive side of the ball for what we know right now, putting projection to the side. Today, we did the same for the defensive position groups and it was an interesting conversation. These rankings are subject to change as the offseason progresses, but looking at the rooms as a whole right now, the conversation changes.
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For the rest of the show, we talked about which college football programs are ascending, which teams are on the descent and which teams are in 'prove it' mode. We broke it down by conference and as you would expect, the conversation didn't disappoint. This is setting up to be an awesome season of college football, and with the end of spring rapidly coming up, we're not too far away from the 2026 college football season kicking off. You can listen to all of that and more in today's episode of the Irish Breakdown Podcast.
You can watch the entire episode here:
Here are some of the main topics we discussed on today's show:
On Notre Dame's Defensive Position Group Rankings...
"Look, these are subject to change as the offseason progresses. But we're taking a look at these units today and the outlook on them as of today. The linebackers are obviously going to be last right now because they essentially don't have a depth chart at the middle linebacker spot with Drayk Bowen, Kyngstonn Viliamu-Asa and Madden Faraimo all out with injuries and unable to participate in team drills. Now, that's great experience for Jaiden Ausberry and Jaylen Sneed but it's a different conversation when we're comparing them to the other position groups on defense."
On Oregon Being On The Rise In College Football...
"They're the one team in the Big Ten, outside of Ohio State and Indiana since they've already arrived, that is ascending. In the last two seasons, Oregon has only lost three games to two opponents and they both went on to win national titles. They have the No. 4 recruiting class in the 2026 cycle and return a host of talent this season on offense and defense. The one thing keeping them from being in the next tier with Indiana, Ohio State and Georgia is very similar to the reason that we have Notre Dame in this category. The next step for them is winning a championship."
On USC's Outlook On The 2026 Season...
"There's a lot riding on this season for USC. In my opinion, it's now or never time for head coach Lincoln Riley. They've removed Notre Dame from their schedule to increase their chances of making the College Football Playoffs. If it doesn't happen for them now, despite their tougher in-conference schedule, the Trojans are going to be playing the 'wait until next year' game that we've seen playout in South Bend under the previous regime. This is a big year for USC and they have a lot at stake in 2026."
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