Why This Season Isn’t as Hard as Everyone Thinks: Breaking Down Freeman’s Clever Schedule, Overrated Opponents, a Loaded Roster, and the Leadership That Took Us to the Brink of Glory
Every college football season is preceded by a swirl of speculation—talking heads, podcasts, and fan forums all buzzing with predictions, power rankings, and hot takes. But this year, the narrative surrounding our season feels unnecessarily dramatic. Everyone’s making it out to be some kind of impossible gauntlet, a brutal stretch of top-tier matchups that will break us before we reach November. Well, I’m here to push back on that narrative, because frankly, it’s just not that deep. This season isn’t as hard as it looks on paper—and I’m going to tell you why.
Let’s start by breaking down the schedule. At first glance, it appears brutal. Look a little closer, though, and you’ll realize it’s brilliantly constructed—not by accident, but by Marcus Freeman, a head coach who knows how to balance optics and opportunity.
These are practically automatic W’s. Stanford is in a rebuild. Navy simply doesn’t have the physical tools to keep up with a team like ours in the trenches. Boston College has moments, but their roster just isn’t built to compete at a high level across four quarters. And Purdue? They’ll fight, sure, but talent-wise, they’re miles behind. The athletic gap is real.
These teams lack the speed, depth, and system-level execution that we bring to the table. Barring some catastrophic collapse or flood of injuries, these four games are virtual locks. Call it a 100% win probability. If you’re sweating these matchups, you’re either overcautious or you haven’t been watching closely.
These are the classic “trap game” teams. They’re solid. They have talent. But they don’t have depth. Their starting units might look decent, but it falls apart fast when you go beyond that.
Arkansas has a couple of standout players, sure, but they haven’t been consistent in the SEC. Boise State isn’t the BCS buster of old; they’re a legacy name with an average roster. Syracuse and Pitt? They’ve had flashes, but they’re not complete teams. Their offenses don’t scare me, and their defenses aren’t built to handle our speed.
I’d give us an 85% win probability in each of these games. Are they pushovers? No. But should we lose to any of them? Absolutely not.
Texas A&M is no joke, but let’s not overhype them either. They have talent, but they’re inconsistent. Year after year, they rack up recruiting wins but underperform when it matters. Their program is still figuring out its identity under new leadership.
This game is a test, no doubt, but it’s far from unwinnable. Our discipline, depth, and conditioning give us an edge. I’d call this one a 75% win chance. Not a coin toss, but close enough to demand our best.
Miami’s always got talent, especially on defense. Their ceiling is high, but so is their volatility. If they come in focused and firing, it could be a dogfight. But if history tells us anything, they’re just as likely to implode mid-season as they are to dominate.
This one’s trickier—maybe a 65% win probability. Still, we’ve played tougher opponents under harder circumstances and come out on top. This one will be won with grit and coaching adjustments.
Let’s be honest—USC is the team to fear. Last season, they were the only squad that kept up with us. The scoreboard might not show it, but anyone who watched the game knows the difference came down to two turnovers. If we had protected the ball, it would’ve been a nail-biter.
This year, we have to be smarter. Our defense won’t be as dominant as it was last season, so we can’t lean on it to bail us out. USC’s offense is elite, and if we give them extra possessions, they’ll capitalize. This is our toughest test, full stop. But it’s one game, not a reason to panic about the whole season.
Everyone loves to focus on what we lost. But what about what we gained?
Sure, a few players graduated or declared for the draft. That’s the nature of college football. But what the national media won’t tell you is that we actually upgraded in several key positions. We filled the gaps not with question marks, but with proven talent, high-ceiling recruits, and transfers who were immediate contributors elsewhere.
What separates a good team from a championship-caliber team is depth—and we’ve got it. Last season, we made it to the national championship game with an injury list longer than a grocery receipt. Despite that, we battled. We pushed. We nearly made history.
This year, we enter healthier, more experienced, and more cohesive. Our quarterback room is more stable, our offensive line is nasty, and our defense—while not as elite as last year—still packs serious firepower. We have speed at the skill positions and maturity across the board. This roster is not just good. It’s built for a title run.
Marcus Freeman isn’t just a rising star—he’s already among the elite. People forget how quickly he’s transformed this program. In just five years, he led Notre Dame to the national championship game. That’s not just impressive; that’s unprecedented. And he did it with a roster that had no business being there on paper.
He’s a student of the game, a motivator, and a culture-builder. Players trust him. Recruits love him. And fans are starting to realize what we’ve got: a generational coaching talent still getting better.
Let’s be real—his first couple of seasons had growing pains. Mismanaged timeouts, conservative play-calling, and some questionable 4th-down decisions. But guess what? Every great coach has their awkward early years. Saban did. Dabo did. Even Urban Meyer did.
What matters is that Freeman learns. He adjusts. He’s not stubborn, and he surrounds himself with smart assistants. That humility and willingness to adapt? That’s rare in this game.
He brought us to the cusp of glory. He’s the first coach since Lou Holtz to get us this close to the promised land. That alone should earn him some breathing room. So when he inevitably makes a mistake this season, don’t lose your minds. Give him grace. Trust the process.
Because under his leadership, this isn’t just a one-year window. This is the beginning of a golden era.
There’s a media bias at play here. For whatever reason, Notre Dame is often framed as an underdog or a lucky overachiever. That’s outdated. This team has the roster, the coaching, and the culture of a perennial powerhouse.
When analysts talk about our “tough schedule,” they’re going off name recognition, not actual roster evaluations. Stanford and BC haven’t been relevant in years. Pitt and Syracuse live off reputation from a few decent seasons. Even Texas A&M hasn’t proven they can win consistently.
Meanwhile, we’ve been doing it. Quietly. Resiliently. Year after year.
This season isn’t the insurmountable obstacle that everyone is making it out to be. It’s a challenge, yes, but one we’re more than equipped to handle. Between a strategically constructed schedule, a stacked and seasoned roster, and a head coach who’s building something special, we are not underdogs. We are contenders.
It’s time to shift the mindset. Let go of the fear. This team has earned your confidence.
So when the season kicks off, don’t be surprised when we start stacking wins. Don’t act shocked when we roll through some of these so-called “tough games.” And when we get another shot at the big one—this time with a healthy squad and lessons learned—remember this moment.
