Analyst flags postseason risk for Marcus Freeman’s Notre Dame, pointing to a recurring flaw

Notre Dame is back in the national conversation as a preseason favorite to reach the College Football Playoff, with the Fighting Irish also being framed as a possible championship contender. Yet a recent analysis from Yahoo Sports argued that the same storyline that briefly revived Notre Dame last season could also become the kind of postseason problem that is harder to fix once the calendar tightens.

The context begins with last season’s Selection Sunday outcome. Notre Dame recovered from an unsteady early stretch, then won its final 10 games, finishing strongly enough that it felt within reach. Even so, the Fighting Irish did not make the playoff, a result that the analyst described as something that could “come back to haunt them,” using a broader theme of how early-season margins and scheduling outcomes can linger in the playoff selection picture.

In that framing, the “one reason” matters because it is meant to explain why a team can look complete down the stretch and still be vulnerable when the playoff field is formed. Selection Sunday is not only a reflection of late-season performance. It is also a judgment of the full body of work, and that is where Notre Dame’s 10-game closing run may not be enough on its own if earlier results do not hold up in the committee’s evaluation.

The bigger issue for Freeman’s program is that Notre Dame’s preseason status raises both expectations and the scrutiny applied to any early hiccups. When a team is widely viewed as a playoff-caliber team from the start, there is less room for the kind of correction that worked last season. If the underlying issue the analyst referenced is still present, a late-season turnaround might not prevent the program from again getting squeezed by the criteria that ultimately shape the playoff bracket.

For fans and program stakeholders, the practical takeaway is to watch how Notre Dame handles the early part of the schedule and how it translates midseason momentum into resume-building outcomes. A late-season surge can be the difference between missing a bowl invite and becoming a true title contender, but it cannot automatically erase weaknesses that are baked into the season’s opening weeks. The challenge is turning the “finishing kick” Notre Dame showed last year into a body of work that does not depend on catching lightning again.

Still, because this is an analyst’s projection rather than a confirmed roster, schedule, or transaction assessment, it should be treated as a concern to monitor, not a prediction that replaces on-field evidence. The real test will come when Notre Dame plays its next set of high-leverage games, and when its overall resume is evaluated against the other playoff candidates competing for the same limited spots.