Fortuna Files: What was, what is and what could be for Notre Dame
Re-visiting 2025 and turning the page to 2026 ...
The confluence of the season ending, “Here Come the Irish” starting and the Playoff approaching have got this mind working overtime about the 2025 Notre Dame season. (And not just because your boy is the first voice you hear in the trailer.)
1. It’s easy to forget this now, but when CJ Carr was named Notre Dame’s starting QB back in August, the news had come as a bit of a surprise to many inside and outside the program. The pedigree and potential were obvious, but many internal accounts had Kenny Minchey outperforming Carr during fall camp. This is what I wrote at the time:
Given the youth movement that took place last year, and given the fact that Carr is younger than Kenny Minchey, it is reasonable to think that Freeman sees a higher ceiling for his team with Carr under center. He is, after all, the highest-rated quarterback recruit that Notre Dame has signed since Brandon Wimbush in 2015.
In short, this could be interpreted as a move that sets Notre Dame up to beat Ohio State — or whichever blueblood potentially awaits come Playoff time — in January more than it is to beat Miami in August.
That is risky, sure, especially since multiple accounts had Minchey outplaying Carr in fall camp. That has to count for something, otherwise Carr would have been named the starter much earlier than Aug. 19. That said, Notre Dame lost to Northern Illinois last season and still made the College Football Playoff with room to spare. That’s not to say that early season losses don’t matter, but let’s be real: Notre Dame could very well lose to Miami and Texas A&M regardless of who is under center, and if the Irish rattled off 10 straight victories from there, they are more than likely still in the field as a Playoff team at 10-2.
2. Let’s ignore that last sentence for the sake of both my ego and that of the committee’s. Let’s instead focus in on the middle part: a move that sets Notre Dame up to beat Ohio State … in January more than it is to beat Miami in August.