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2026 Preseason Notre Dame Fighting Irish Rankings

Main Poll Voters

User	Rank	Reason
BosskOnASegway	1	1886.3 -> 2049.7 [+163.3] (#5 -> #1) ↑
JBonkies	1
laprasrules	1
mthompson2320	1
Muffinnnnnnn	1
PlactusTX	1
SlaminSammons	1
ALStark69	2	+14
BlueSCar	2
CFBHurts	2
ChaseTheFalcon	2
colton_97	2
DarkLegend64	2
Dropbackandpunt	2
eclectic_tastes	2
elnino550	2	They have the highest retention along with the 2nd best recruitment class in the country. CJ Carr is currently the favorite for the heisman and they have the number one defensive player in the country, this roster is loaded. They lost 2 NFL 1st round RBs, so they may have to increase their passing game, but I have no worries they'll still be able to run the ball. Anything worse than 11-1 with their schedule is a disaster.
halldaylong	2
HideNZeke	2
ikindalikelemons	2	This team could be terrifyingly deep, and I really like CJ Carr's development. This is probably the team I'd least like my beloved Georgia Bulldogs to match up against.
JeromesNiece	2
jonstark19	2
Lefunnymaymays4lief	2	If anyone outside of Miami and SMU score more than 14 points on them I will be thoroughly shocked. Hell perhaps neither of them score more than 10. Unreal secondary, top 3 at worst at every other position group on defense. Carr may end up even better than Moore too
MahjongDaily	2
MainPeanut25	2	Experienced skill players/somehow still underrated CJ Carr
PattyKane16	2
Roscoe_Filburn	2
SteemieRayVaughn	2
T-Thugs	2
thescottula	2
TolkienFan71	2
True_Ad5324	2	Loaded roster but easy schedule
vanburen1845	2
VerySeriousBanana	2
_fastball	3
bakonydraco	3
Bereft13	3	Power: 3, SoR: 13; LW:
Blazeth	3
bretticus733	3
Buckeyes2010	3
budget_um	3
Chipsahoy523	3
Corgi_Koala	3
CRedds19	3
HelioOne	3
Jay_Dubbbs	3
jrluhn	3
KansasEF5Tornado	3	elo: 2116
Laschoni	3
lowes18	3	Loaded at every position, only real questions are at WR. Faison needs a breakout season and Greathouse has to stay healthy if this team is to potentially win a national title, however Carr has shown he can produce without an elite room.
ManiacalBlazer	3
MemeofMemeJTG999999	3	End of Last Season: #12 (10-2) | Next Week: vs Wisconsin (in Green Bay) | Projected Bowl: Peach Bowl vs Georgia/Texas Tech
monkeymatt1836	3
noahthearc	3
NotSoSuperNerd	3	78.28
NyquillusDillwad20	3
Our-Gardian-Angel	3
penisthightrap_	3
Staind075	3
SufferingfOrLife	3	Reasons I like them: #1 in returning production, Phenomenal defense (Moore, Bowen, Traore, Young, McKinney, Gray 50/50), Strong interior line (Knapp, Craig, Jagusah), CJ Carr entering his second year as a starter. Reasons I dislike them: They have to replace two first-round running backs, CJ Carr may not take a step forward, and a weak schedule gives them little margin for error against the best teams on their schedule.
tdoger	3
ThaCarter	3
UNC_Samurai	3
Xy13	3	Toughest Games - @ BYU, vs Miami. Avoid - All --- Marcus Freeman has built the best roster ND has seen. Are they soft for opting out of the bowl game last year, or will they be coming back with a vengeance? Either way they should be in the playoffs. Only 2 games should pose a challenge to them, and even if they lose both they will probably remain in the top 12 and get their auto-spot.
12panther	4
BallSoHerd	4
BendrickLamar19	4
Blooblod	4
brucewaynewins	4
bwburke94	4	+18.44871692
CambodianDrywall	4
Cars-and-Coffee	4
donbagert	4
Doogitywoogity	4	With the change to the playoff structure Notre Dame just needs to simply not shit the bed to get in. For this year they’ve really only got 1.5 challenges in Miami and BYU. SMU and Navy are a considerable step down after that, and everyone else should be a pushover. It would be EXTREMELY funny if Wisconsin wins week 1 though.
dukemetoo	4
grtgbln	4
Helifino	4
jbowen1	4
JustAManAndHisLaptop	4
malowry0124	4
mcdsmaster8824	4
one98d	4
placid_salad	4
Player_1_has_Joined	4
Pure_Protein_Machine	4
redrumsoxLoL	4	Notre Dame also is being led by a great offense and a good defense, but I have them just a step behind Georgia and Oregon
RiffRamBahZoo	4
SCsprinter13	4
titansfan174	4
udderlymoovelous	4
Versigot	4	Carr is a lot better than people give him credit for and I don't think losing Love/Price will hurt them very much
Acm0028	5
AJ_CC	5
arbadak	5
Conn3er	5
cyberchaox	5
daredassdude	5
Darth_Ra	5
djowen68	5
EpicSchwinn	5	Another see you in January. CJ Carr is gonna be a video game.
grey_pilgrim_	5
IceColdDrPepper_Here	5
Jakesnake42	5
joebob431	5
jrich960608	5
jthomas694	5
Longvols	5
Luigiatl	5
OldCoaly	5
PeteyNice	5
Rakarei	5
redwave2505	5
retnuh101	5
seaotter2	5
TaylorLeprechaun	5
Zef_Apollo	5
Zloggt	5	Be it righteous vengeance against conference-network politicking, or a giant sulking session after not getting their way for once - the Hibernian Hoosiers are coming in with a chip on their shoulder!
A_Rolling_Baneling	6
BananaBouquet	6
Ch-i-ef	6
COLU_BUS	6
CommodoreN7	6
CptCheese	6
deadtofall12	6
diehardcubforever	6
Drexlore	6
dschinghiskhan	6
dubscurry30	6
fredmerc111	6
Jerrywelfare	6
jjjoebox	6
Lex_Ludorum	6
outthawazoo	6
owlalwaysloveyew	6
PalmettoFace	6
plannedsickdays	6
Shion314	6
skuhlke	6	Notre Dame Champions (12-0)
SwissArmyScythe	6
tdeff19	6
texas2089	6
Tornadohunter24	6
WarEagle9	6
xX_GIGA_MAN_Xx	6	Was fucked up of you to snub the Pop Tarts bowl.
aggiebruin27	7
AllHawkeyesGoToHell	7
Bank_Gothic	7
bannista7	7
ch1l1_ch33s3	7
chillmagic420	7
JustinMSU21	7
Klaassy23	7
PSUMediaPA	7
Red261	7
Sometimeswelose	7
SpadeRyker	7
TheUltimate721	7
twitter_paulbd	7
BUSean	8
sgtshenanigans	8
SIMBONEGTP	8
the_neverdoctor	8
TimeBroken	8
dabul-master	9
ewolfy13	9
kflinderman	9
roguebandit1	9
ToeInDigDeep	9
cvsprinter1	10
galacticdude7	10
jalexjsmithj	10
Pyromania1983	10
Justanother_0	11	While I wasn't blown away by CJ Carr last year, and I expect the departures of Love and Price to have a heavy impact on the potency of the Irish offense, there isn't much excuse for Notre Dame to miss the playoffs this year. The defense will remain stalwart and the special teams shouldn't be a liability.
smartkeg	11
Corporal_Hicks	12
Charlemagne42	13	Now that Notre Dame is guaranteed a playoff spot if ranked in the final top 12, they'll be ranked 13.
douchebagjack	13
GeauxTri	13
shifty1032231	13
spmartin1993	14
ColombianInIowa24	20
manbeardawg	25

Provisional Poll Voters

User	Rank	Reason
bigheadsoftbody	1
isrealball	1
josh55134	1
ndbfsu22	1
Repulsive_Rub6443	1
BoilerUp28	2
JJones927	2
jtchr33	2	Hard to argue that they won't be good and that they won't win every game
Kirkwood641	2
manbeqrpig	2
Midnight-Mustang	2
MisguidedPassion	2	Good talent, great coaching, and even better schedule.
msonar623	2
National-Sundae9427	2
OG_Felwinter	2
AllEliteSchmuck	3
beckett929	3
civfan5843	3
Crelc3	3
dee3Poh	3
epyoch	3	Boasting a nation-leading 72% returning production and 14 returning starters, the Irish look primed to avoid past stumbles
Ethanol-Muffins	3	Same as miami, easy schedule with great coaching and talent
FrontRunner51	3
geordieColt88	3
gonshpreds1	3
ianmcmoney	3
iron_horseshoe88	3
jtsmd2	3
PM_ME_YOUROUY_EM_MP	3
SignificanceFirm2398	3
Star_Wars_Sith	3
Yamiosum	3
538allspelledout	4
666haha	4
AoA_nB1	4	Returning CJ Carr and a stout defense. ND rightfully has a huge chip on their shoulder entering this season, and I believe Marcus Freeman’s Fighting Irish come out swinging this year.
ceris13	4
DarthGlazer	4
Different-Salary2899	4
DownshiftGD	4
Elegant_Tiger6870	4
Flaky_Bit6733	4
laxintx	4
Living_Human	4	39.86
MWiatrak2077	4
Ok_Significance_3803	4
Rhizical	4
RJTrey	4
SaguaroCactus19	4
Sflabuckeye13	4
TheBeekman8	4
TyRoland06	4
Yechibaby09	4
alttabbins	5
bigred91224	5
bruhstevenson	5
ChiTrojan2	5
Dan20698	5
dannykandy	5
DesignerClub1887	5
fm22fnam	5
Impossible-Still-349	5
journey1986	5
loneSTAR_06	5
MajikSix	5
Nervous_Metal_9445	5
noah_divine	5	maybe an all-in year for the Irish with how loaded this roster is. not the best roster though. Marcus Freeman needs to squeeze everything out of them.
NoOutdoorSoup	5
Rishik01	5
rt13wx	5
SomerandomIDFBfan	5
SportsCat4	5
ValarMorghulis_17	5
WBLwiffleball	5
Yelich04	5
70277027	6
ArlyntheAwesome	6
bolts_win_again	6
d1sportsball	6	Loss of top 2 RBs will hurt them
DwayneBaconStan	6
EL-YEO	6
hiiightide	6
LightningDusty	6
myworld3	6
NA_Faker	6
NebraskaPlainsman	6
PrideSax711	6
PsychologicalFox8660	6
Real-Plant-5722	6
saquad69	6
Billiam501	7
CALL_ME_ISHMAEBY	7	0.846
Esb5415	7
Hetoxy	7
Kareem89086	7
kevinsdomain	7
logace444444444	7
mr_longfellow_deeds	7
Protoco2	7
Front-Broccoli5957	8
JackWK_Gaming	8
KansasChaser2021	8
meristematic	8
Pure-Shirt-5831	8
Resolve-Opening	8
samtaylor92	8
throwaway_6786	8
ElyxUW	9
GenuineBoss	9
Klightgrove	9
quantum_jedi	9
thehornedlamb	9
Rare_Bit5844	10
Salmon-Dude	10
CallMeTheKing	11
BlueRFR3100	12
buccaneerboy22	12
baileyx96	13
Perryapsis	13
ted1995	13
grahamca	14
LegionMammal978	14	[T1.] Group Score .500, Team Score 0.
MyAngelMiraidon	20	its

Blue = Human
Red = Computer
Green = Hybrid

Bold = before the AP poll was published
Normal = after the AP poll was published

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