Newsstand: Where Notre Dame stands in way-too-early college football top 25

On Monday night, Michigan knocked off Washington 34-13 to capture the College Football Playoff national championship, and with that, the 2023-24 season has concluded.

Moments after the game ended, On3’s Jesse Simonton published an article with his way-too-early top 25 college football rankings for next season. And Simonton has Marcus Freeman‘s Notre Dame team ranked in the top 10 — sitting at No. 8 in the country.

“Freeman has the Irish poised for a Year 3 leap and contention for a playoff spot next fall,” Simonton wrote. “Notre Dame has plugged holes on the roster using the portal, adding the likes of Duke quarterback Riley Leonard, Clemson wideout Beaux Collins and a couple impact defensive players. Freeman also swiped Mike Denbrock away from LSU as his new OC.”

Here’s the top 10 in order: Georgia, Texas, Alabama, Oregon, Ohio State, Michigan, Ole Miss, Notre Dame, Penn State and Missouri.

And the rest of the top 25 is as follows:

11. Utah
12. Oklahoma
13. LSU
14. Arizona
15. Tennessee
16. Kansas State
17. Florida State
18. Clemson
19. Louisville
20. Kansas
21. Miami
22. Oklahoma State
23. SMU
24. Iowa
25. Washington

Notre Dame tweets of the day

WAY-TOO-EARLY 2024 College Football Top 25 per @JesseReSimonton👀

Do you agree? 🤔https://t.co/MN8i9NkM7N pic.twitter.com/clh8mVActl

— On3 (@On3sports) January 9, 2024

🚨𝗕𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗞𝗜𝗡𝗚: 2025 safety Ethan Long has announced his commitment to Notre Dame over Michigan, Ohio State and others ☘️☘️☘️

Long breaks down his decision: https://t.co/BzxBTrijgm

The experts react: https://t.co/aZbuiR8rlv pic.twitter.com/xmDJ3SbE98

— Mike Singer (@MikeTSinger) January 8, 2024

The good news if you’re Notre Dame: This year’s national champion was developed as an offensive line and defensive line first program from the Midwest.

The bad news if you’re Notre Dame: It was Michigan.

— Pete Sampson (@PeteSampson_) January 9, 2024

Quote of the day

“I let them know Notre Dame feels like my second home. I can come to you guys with anything I need. And I trust you with my future, and my parents trust you. The education and tradition is one of a kind. I just feel like Notre Dame is the best fit for me, my family and my future.” 

— New Notre Dame class of 2025 safety commit Ethan Long on his message to the Fighting Irish staff when committing

Headlines of the day

• How Notre Dame contained Duke star Kyle Filipowski (Jack Soble)
• Ascending 2025 safety Ethan Long commits to ND football (Kyle Kelly)
• 2025 safety Ethan Long goes in depth on his ND football commitment (Kyle Kelly)
• What the experts are saying about new ND commit Ethan Long (Mike Singer)
• Five thoughts on 2025 safety Ethan Long’s ND football commitment (Kyle Kelly)
• Hannah Hidalgo sets Notre Dame record for Rookie of the Week titles (Tyler Horka)
• The Gold Standard: Notre Dame football recruiting and transfer portal tidbits (Mike Singer)
• Where Notre Dame women’s basketball ranks in Week 10 AP Top 25 (Tyler Horka)
• What have ND 2024 opponents done in the transfer portal? (Part 1) (Jack Soble)
• Why ND women’s basketball is more than injuries away from being elite (Tyler Horka)
• All-American Bowl journal: ND WR Cam Williams reflects on experience in San Antonio (Mike Singer)