{"id":163675,"date":"2026-03-31T18:11:30","date_gmt":"2026-03-31T23:11:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.chicitysports.com\/?p=163675"},"modified":"2026-03-31T18:11:30","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T23:11:30","slug":"this-is-the-key-question-for-the-2026-notre-dame-fighting-irish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chicitysports.com\/this-is-the-key-question-for-the-2026-notre-dame-fighting-irish\/","title":{"rendered":"This is the key question for the 2026 Notre Dame Fighting Irish"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are expecting to come into the 2026 college football season with some vengeance on their mind. After not being selected for the 12-team College Football Playoff, they enter this upcoming season without some star players. What is the biggest question for the Fighting Irish as we are still months away from the opening kickoff? Let’s take a closer look at what one outlet believes it to be.<\/p>\n

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have to figure out who their playmakers are<\/h2>\n
\"Notre
Notre Dame quarterback CJ Carr throws a pass in the second half of a NCAA football game against NC State at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2025, in South Bend.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Manny Navarro of The Athletic wrote an article highlighting the key question for each of the AP Top 25 teams<\/a> as spring football is closing. For Notre Dame, he highlighted the question as who will be the team’s go-to playmaker. Below is the snippet he wrote for the team:<\/p>\n

“Quarterback CJ Carr is the Heisman Trophy favorite – at this early stage – but does he have dangerous weapons to get the ball to? Former walk-on Jordan Faison is back after leading the team with 49 catches for 640 yards and four touchdowns, but star tailback Jeremiyah Love is off to the NFL along with Carr’s three other top receiving targets. Notre Dame added two former five-star receivers from Ohio State in Mylan Graham and Quincy Porter via the portal, and somebody needs to emerge as Carr’s primary option.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Notre Dame is going to be in a tough position with some changes at key positions on the roster. However, coach Marcus Freeman<\/a> is hoping the team can reflect last year’s program, which won the final 10 games of the season. They have talent at skill positions, but it will be interesting to see which player or players can step up to become elite playmakers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are expecting to come into the 2026 college football season with some vengeance on their mind. After not being selected for the 12-team College Football Playoff, they enter this upcoming season without some star players. What is the biggest question for the Fighting Irish as we are still months away<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":558,"featured_media":156965,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6637],"tags":[8253,2782],"class_list":{"0":"post-163675","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-notre-dame","8":"tag-cj-carr","9":"tag-notre-dame-fighting-irish"},"yoast_head":"\nThis is the key question for the 2026 Notre Dame Fighting Irish<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have some major questions heading into the 2026 season. 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