Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman did something no one in Fighting Irish history had done before last season — he led his team through a grueling 16-game campaign, finishing 14-2 overall.
No Notre Dame team had ever won 14 games in a single season. But with the expanded College Football Playoff format, that’s the new standard for teams aiming to win a national championship.
Freeman and the Irish ultimately fell short of that goal, which only raises the pressure heading into 2025.
MORE: ESPN insider explains why he left Notre Dame's Marcus Freeman off his top 10 coaching list
There were still questions surrounding Freeman heading into last season, his second since taking over after Brian Kelly left for LSU. And those doubts lingered when Notre Dame suffered a shocking home loss to Northern Illinois, a Group of Five program that finished just 8-5.
It was the latest example of Notre Dame stumbling out of the gate under Freeman. In 2022, the Irish opened the season with a loss at Ohio State, followed by a stunning defeat at home to Marshall. In 2023, they ended the month of September with a heartbreaking home loss to the Buckeyes.
According to ESPN’s Adam Rittenberg, that early-season trend could once again be a concern.
"Early season games are one of the only knocks against Freeman, who has dropped at least one September game in each of his three seasons as Irish coach,” Rittenberg wrote. “Notre Dame needs a strong start with its two most talented opponents — Miami and Texas A&M — leading off the schedule."
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Rittenberg referred to the Miami Hurricanes as Notre Dame’s “archvillain” for 2025. That storyline taps into what was once one of college football’s fiercest rivalries in the late 1980s.
From 1971 to 1990, Notre Dame and Miami squared off nearly every year. The programs have met just four times since, with the last game coming in 2017 — a dominant 41-8 win for the Hurricanes at Hard Rock Stadium. Notre Dame still holds the edge in the all-time series, 17-8.
This time around, Rittenberg believes Miami quarterback Carson Beck — who transferred in from Georgia — could be the difference, even coming off an injury.
“When healthy, Beck is talented enough to villainize a Notre Dame defense replacing standouts Xavier Watts, Jack Kiser, Rylie Mills and others, and appearing in its first game under new coordinator Chris Ash,” Rittenberg added.
When Notre Dame and Miami meet in Week 1, it will be one of the most high-stakes openers of the year — a matchup with major College Football Playoff implications for both projected Top-25 teams.