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.
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.
| RANK | TEAM | POINTS |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio State | 1672 (40) |
| 2 | Oregon | 1597 (14) |
| 3 | Georgia | 1,513 |
| 4 | Notre Dame | 1510 (6) |
| 5 | Texas | 1,483 |
| 6 | Indiana | 1440 (8) |
| 7 | Miami (FL) | 1379 (1) |
| 8 | Texas A&M | 1,131 |
| 9 | Ole Miss | 1,102 |
| 10 | Oklahoma | 1,047 |
| 11 | LSU | 988 |
| 12 | Texas Tech | 983 |
| 13 | Alabama | 904 |
| 14 | BYU | 839 |
| 14 | USC | 839 |
| 16 | Michigan | 718 |
| 17 | Washington | 501 |
| 18 | Penn State | 482 |
| 19 | SMU | 434 |
| 20 | Tennessee | 394 |
| 21 | Utah | 304 |
| 22 | Iowa | 260 |
| 23 | Houston | 252 |
| 24 | Louisville | 194 |
| 25 | Missouri | 117 |
OTHERS 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