Notre Dame VS Texas Longhorns in the 2026 National Championship Game?

Okay

The college football offseason is already catching fire here in the first week of February. Besides transfer portal news, coaching staff changes, and NFL Draft stuff; the early polls, All-American teams, and playoff projections are already being rolled out onto the table by the content machines.

Enter Andy Staples and his College Football Playoff projections. It’s possibly one of the most respectful and deferential predictions for a Notre Dame football season from an objectionable source that I’ve seen in a long time — and it actually has me scratching my head. The Irish haven’t even named its starting quarterback, and Staples has them going all the way to the National Championship game for the second consecutive year… but also losing for the second consecutive year. This time, the loss is to the Texas Longhorns.

Just to keep an accurate count, the prediction gives Notre Dame a first round win over the Florida Gators in South Bend, an Orange Bowl win over the Clemson Tigers, and a Fiesta Bowl win over the Oregon Ducks — and then that loss in the championship.

If you’re asking me about this in February, I can’t help but think that this looks pretty good. No prediction or projection this time of year is going to be played out like a television script, but as a Notre Dame fan I appreciate the respect .