Notre Dame 2026 Season Preview: Game-by-Game & CFP Predictions

Notre Dame football enters the 2026 season with massive expectations, and this full game-by-game preview breaks down the Irish schedule, the biggest tests against Wisconsin, BYU, Miami and SMU, and a potential path through the College Football Playoff. Locked On Irish host Tyler Wojciak starts with Notre Dame’s September slate, moves into a challenging midseason stretch featuring a hostile trip to BYU and a potentially massive showdown with Miami, then closes with the final three games before revealing his official regular-season record and predicting exactly how far the Irish will go in the College Football Playoff.   (0:00) - Intro (1:13) - Wisconsin-UNC (13:39) - Stanford-Miami (28:58) - Final Record & CFP Prediction   Follow Tyler on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TylerWojciak Follow Locked On Irish on Twitter: https://twitter.com/LockedOnIrish Follow Locked On Irish on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lockedonirishpod/?hl=en Subscribe to Locked on Irish on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC749D_LgykIE8WLu7W4UQlQ   Everydayer Club   If you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord, and more — all built for our most loyal fans.  Click here to learn more and join your team’s community: https://lockedonirish.supercast.com/   Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!   KALSHI For a limited time, Download the Kalshi app and use code [LOCKEDON] to get $10 when you trade $10.   Indeed Listeners of this show get a $75 Sponsored Job Credit to help give your job the premium placement it deserves at http://Indeed.com/podcast.   Square Get up to $200 off Square hardware when you sign up at https://square.com/go/COLLEGE ! #squarepod   ULTRA POUCHES Don’t sleep on Ultra Pouches. New customers get 15% Off with code LOCKEDONCOLLEGEFOOTBALL at https://takeultra.com! #UltraPouches #ad   5-Hour ENERGY Bring on the sweetness with Cotton Candy 5-hour ENERGY®️ shots—available online now at https:/5hourENERGY.com or on Amazon.    Gametime Today's episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase. Terms and conditions apply.   FanDuel Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now new customers can bet just five dollars and get two-hundred and fifty dollars in bonus bets if your first bet wins. Visit https://FANDUEL.COM to get started — Play Your Game. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.