2024 success applies earned pressure on 2025
Notre Dame football had a breakthrough season in 2024 …
Now do it again, and even better.
After three decades of postseason failure, the Irish went on an impressive run that resulted in three playoff wins and an appearance in the national title game for the first time since 2012. This was the kind of season Notre Dame needed to have, and it was also the kind of season Marcus Freeman needed to have.
With this success comes a justifiable rise in expectations for the 2025 Irish squad. A squad that will look much different than 2024’s whether it be at the QB position, DC role, or from an administrative perspective with a new GM overseeing the talent acquisition infrastructure.
This all leads to the question on all Notre Dame fans’ minds this offseason. What will it take to define a” successful” 2025 campaign?
The expanded playoff format adds nuance to defining “success”
In the “old days”, success for Notre Dame was pretty easy to measure. Did the Irish make it to and win the BCS title game? If not, did the Irish at least win a “major” bowl?
For decades these were the easy-to-process black and white measuring sticks of success for the Notre Dame program. But times change, and college football has changed with a four-game playoff run now being needed to win it all.
Does Notre Dame have to get back to the title game in 2025 to show that no regression has taken place? I feel like this is an oversimplified position to hold, especially when considering how extreme some of the changes to the team are entering the 2025 season.
While the jury is still out on the “Ash experiment” on the defensive side of the ball, the QB position is what will move the needle the most in 2025. Notre Dame’s first two games are against Miami on the road, and then they are hosting Texas A&M.
There needs to be a reasonable understanding that the new Irish QB, whoever it ends up being, will have no or limited game experience facing a really tough start to the year.
With this in mind, I believe the baseline definition of success for 2025 starts with making the CFP field. If Notre Dame can break in a new signal caller and still be among the top 12 teams in the country, it’d be a great success. From that point, as we learned in 2024, anything is possible, including another deep CFP run.
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