Where Notre Dame football lands in preseason USA Today Coaches Poll

The first official set of rankings of the 2025 college football season is here. Notre Dame ranks No. 5 in the preseason USA Today Coaches Poll, which dropped Monday afternoon.

The Fighting Irish are only behind Texas, Ohio State, Penn State and Georgia, in that order. They’ll take on No. 10 Miami in Week 1 and No. 21 Texas A&M in Week 3, which is Notre Dame’s second game of the season following a Week 2 bye.

Here’s a look at the entire poll.

2025 Preseason Coaches Poll: Notre Dame No. 5

1. Texas
2. Ohio State
3. Penn State
4. Georgia
5. Notre Dame

6. Clemson
7. Oregon
8. Alabama
9. LSU
10. Miami

11. Arizona State
12. Illinois
13. South Carolina
14. Michigan
15. Ole Miss

16. SMU
17. Florida
18. Tennessee
19. Indiana
20. Kansas State

21. Texas A&M
22. Iowa State
23. BYU
24. Texas Tech
25. Boise State

Miami, Texas A&M and No. 25 Boise State are the only ranked teams on Notre Dame’s schedule. USC, Syracuse and Arkansas are in the “others receiving votes” category, though.

This is the highest preseason Coaches Poll ranking Notre Dame has had since also claiming the No. 5 spot in Marcus Freeman‘s first season as head coach in 2022. The Irish went on the road and lost to No. 2 Ohio State in the season opener that year and finished with an 8-4 regular season record.

Last season, the Irish began the year ranked as the No. 7 team in the Coaches Poll. They went 11-1 with a lone loss to Northern Illinois before running the table and making it all the way to the national championship game. The lost to the Buckeyes and finished the season with a 14-2 record and the No. 2 spot in postseason polls.

Like Notre Dame had to in 2022, it will be breaking in a first-time starting quarterback on the road against a top-10 team. Redshirt freshman CJ Carr and redshirt sophomore Kenny Minchey are in the midst of a quarterback competition to determine who will get the honor.

Aside from inexperience at the most important position on the field, the Irish are poised to run it back and be a national contender once again in 2025. They’ve brought back many important pieces from last year’s team and added a few more potential difference makers from the transfer portal.

If the quarterback spot doesn’t end up being a concern, Notre Dame can have another wildly successful season ahead.