Notre Dame football came up eight points short of Ohio State in the College Football Playoff national championship. The Irish overcame plenty of injury obstacles from training camp through the CFP to make it to the title game.
Senior quarterback Riley Leonard struggled in the early part of the season, but his heroics after Northern Illinois upset Notre Dame 16-14 in Week 2 propelled the Irish to a 14-2 record. With Leonard headed to the 2025 NFL Draft, the Irish have a big decision to make at quarterback for the upcoming season.
Notre Dame football’s biggest obstacle in 2025
Per David Hale of ESPN, Notre Dame’s QB1 choice between CJ Carr and Steve Angeli will be among the most-watched battles in college football this summer. Hale listed quarterback as a weakness for Notre Dame. QB1 is the Irish’s top obstacle keeping them from making another run to the CFP.
“Marcus Freeman likes what he has to work with at the position,” Hale wrote. “But after two straight years with veteran QBs, Notre Dame will turn to someone without much playing time under his belt in 2025. Who? Well, that’s the big question. Steve Angeli has a leg up based on experience — even though he doesn’t have much of it — but redshirt freshman CJ Carr has a chance to be special.
“The battle to see who leads the offense will be among the most watched in all of college football, and finding the right answer might be the biggest obstacle between now and another playoff bid for Notre Dame.”
The Irish need the secondary to remain elite
© Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Despite the Irish losing Xavier Watts and Benjamin Morrison to the NFL in 2025, Hale thinks the secondary will be Notre Dame’s strength in the upcoming season.
“Losing Xavier Watts and Benjamin Morrison might be a huge red flag at a lot of schools,” Hale wrote. “Not at Notre Dame, where the defensive backfield remains elite. Start with sophomore corner Leonard Moore, who established himself as one of the top young prospects in the country last season, allowing less than 40% completions and racking up 11 pass breakups and two picks.
“Christian Gray was a solid performer on the other side, while Adon Shuler blossomed at safety. Notre Dame added a solid option at safety in Virginia Tech transfer Jalen Stroman. The back end of the defense should be the strength of this unit, just as it was a year ago.”
Notre Dame’s defense did just enough to lead the team to the CFP national championship game but was unable to stop Ohio State early enough in the game to give the Irish their first national title since 1988. The Irish defense should be good enough to get the program to the CFP in 2025.
However, it’ll take a special quarterback to score enough points to win a national championship.
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