2026 Notre Dame Schedule Preview with Bryan Driskell: Miami, BYU, SMU & the CFP Path

Bryan Driskell from Irish Breakdown joins Tyler and Lance for a complete breakdown of the 2026 Notre Dame football schedule and the Fighting Irish’s path to the College Football Playoff.We start with Wisconsin at Lambeau Field and discuss why the Badgers could be a tougher opening opponent than many expect, plus the history between Luke Fickell, Marcus Freeman and several members of Notre Dame’s coaching staff. From there, Bryan pushes back on the criticism surrounding Notre Dame’s schedule and explains why he believes the Irish are held to a different standard than programs with similarly manageable schedules around the country. Then we get into the biggest games:BYU in Provo, where Bryan expects a physical, mature team and one of the toughest environments Notre Dame will face.Navy, which Bryan eventually identifies as Notre Dame’s biggest potential trap game.Miami, potentially one of the biggest regular-season games in all of college football. Bryan believes the matchup has the ingredients of an old-school Notre Dame classic and says the Irish would beat Miami if the two teams played today. We also break down SMU, Kevin Jennings and Rhett Lashlee’s offense. Bryan believes SMU is actually the tougher matchup than BYU from a personnel standpoint and views the Mustangs as one of the two best teams in the ACC alongside Miami. Finally, we discuss Notre Dame’s playoff résumé at 12-0, 11-1 and 10-2 before finishing with Bryan’s rapid-fire predictions.His final call?Notre Dame goes 12-0, earns the No. 2 seed in the College Football Playoff, and finishes 15-0 as National Champions. Can Notre Dame navigate the schedule, leave no doubt and finally finish the job in 2026?