Notre Dame will start the season ranked No. 4 in the AP Top 25 Poll

SOUTH BEND, IN - NOVEMBER 08: Notre Dame Fighting Irish QB CJ Carr (13) warms up prior to a college football game between the Navy Midshipmen and Notre Dame Fighting Irish on November 8, 2025 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, IN (Photo by James Black/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The 2026 college football season is just a few weeks away now, and one of the final markers of this journey is the release of the AP Top 25 preseason poll. Notre Dame has been considered a top 5 team all offseason, and in this poll, the Irish will start the season ranked No. 4 in the nation.

Notre Dame was one of 5 teams that received first place votes, and had the fourth most of those top votes.

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Notre Dame’s top opponents for the 2026 season according to this poll are:

Miami Hurricanes No. 7
BYU Cougars No. 14
SMU Mustangs No. 19

Only one other Irish opponent received any votes, and those votes went to the Navy Midshipmen.

RANKTEAMPOINTS1Ohio State1672 (40)2Oregon1597 (14)3Georgia1,5134Notre Dame1510 (6)5Texas1,4836Indiana1440 (8)7Miami (FL)1379 (1)8Texas A&M1,1319Ole Miss1,10210Oklahoma1,04711LSU98812Texas Tech98313Alabama90414BYU83914USC83916Michigan71817Washington50118Penn State48219SMU43420Tennessee39421Utah30422Iowa26023Houston25224Louisville19425Missouri117OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES:

Clemson 112, Florida 51, Boise State 43, Arizona 32, TCU 11, Navy 10, South Carolina 10, Illinois 9, Oklahoma State 8, Vanderbilt 8, Pittsburgh 7, Virginia Tech 6, Minnesota 5, UNLV 4, New Mexico 4, Georgia Tech 4, Louisiana 4, James Madison 3, Auburn 3, Memphis 2, California 2, Liberty 1, Western Michigan 1, Tulane 1, Virginia 1

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