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Newsstand: ESPN ranks Miami vs. Notre Dame No. 4 must-watch game of 2026

IMG_9992by: Tyler Horka05/22/26tbhorka

ESPN celebrated 100 days until college football on Thursday with a laundry list of preview material for the upcoming season. Notre Dame mentions were littered throughout it.

Notably, the outlet ranked quarterback CJ Carr the No. 2 Heisman Trophy favorite behind Texas’ Arch Manning. It also named the Fighting Irish the No. 5 most likely team to acquire a first-round bye in the College Football Playoff, and in a bold predictions segment one of them forecasted the Irish to qualify for the CFP over the Miami Hurricanes — essentially saying that game will be for a playoff spot.

In light of that, Bill Connelly ranked Miami at Notre Dameon Nov. 7 the No. 4 in a list of the top-10 must-watch games of the 2026 season.

“Miami took down Notre Dame in last year’s season opener, somehow hawked down the Fighting Irish in the late-season CFP rankings, then darn near won the national title after grabbing the last CFP at-large bid,” Connelly wrote. “Do you think the Irish remember that?”

Here’s Connelly’s full rundown of must-watch games.

  1. LSU at Ole Miss, Sept. 19
  2. Ohio State at Texas, Sept. 12
  3. Ohio State at Indiana, Oct. 17
  4. Miami at Notre Dame, Nov. 7
  5. Georgia at Alabama, Oct. 10
  6. Oregon at Ohio State, Nov. 7
  7. Oklahoma at Michigan, Sept. 12
  8. Texas at Texas A&M, Nov. 27
  9. Houston at Texas Tech, Sept. 18
  10. North Dakota State at UNLV, Oct. 10

Notre Dame social media posts of the day

Five years later and being the Fighting Irish head coach is still surreal for Marcus Freeman.

The Fighting Irish men’s lacrosse team is on its way to championship weekend.

Fighting Irish women’s basketball coach Niele Ivey cares deeply about her former players.

Fighting Irish quote of the day

“I’m just really proud of what he’s done now at St. Pat’s. He’s been out recruiting. He’s got several guys that are going to be prominent college recruits, and I know the way he is. He’s a hard worker. He’ll do real good. And I sure wouldn’t be surprised if you see him at Notre Dame someday as an assistant.”

— 1971 ND grad and proud Irish donor Peter Schivarelli on former Irish safety Tom Zbikowski

Blue & Gold headlines of the day

• Who’s next? Five Notre Dame football commit candidates
• Notre Dame men’s basketball to return to Dayton for charity exhibition vs. Flyers
• Suddenly, the Chicago talent pool is deep again, and Notre Dame football is diving in

• Four-star edge Darieon Prescott feels at home when visiting Notre Dame
• Notre Dame making strong push for top-100 QB Neimann Lawrence
• Lucky Charms: Latest intel on Notre Dame linebacker board