Notre Dame QB CJ Carr opens as Heisman favorite along with Arch Manning

With week 0 officially over and week 1 on the horizon, the race for the College Football Playoff is officially on.

Most of the top teams in the nation will take the field for the first time this weekend, including the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. They will face the Wisconsin Badgers Sunday night at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.

As usual, the Irish will face high expectations this season, as they enter the new campaign ranked 4th in the country. They’ll be led by sophomore QB CJ Carr, who also carries some expectations.

Carr threw for 24 touchdowns and just 6 interceptions in his freshman year, as his progression excited fans across the country. Notre Dame failed to make the College Football Playoff after a rough 0-2 start, but rebounded with 10 straight wins to end the season. Carr proved himself down the stretch, and the nation has clearly taken notice.

Sophomore Carr will open as the favorite to win the Heisman in 2026, with 7-1 odds to raise the trophy. Trailing right behind him is the polarizing Arch Manning, who sits at 15-2 on DraftKings. The shortest odds of any non-quarterback is Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith, who will hear his name called very early in the 2027 NFL draft. He sits at 14-1.

CJ Carr | QB | Notre Dame | 6-3, 210

Efficient and poised rhythm-based distributor that continued to grow as the season progressed. Polished mechanics and has experience with exhausting progressions. pic.twitter.com/CKPL6DLBFs

— Jordan Reid (@Jordan_Reid) June 28, 2026

Carr completed 66.7% of all his passes during his freshman year at Notre Dame and showed flashes of greatness in all of his appearances. Watching his tape, Carr’s early anticipation as a freshman was astounding. See his performance against the NC State Wolfpack last year to see him hit receivers in stride and time his throws near-perfectly.

Obviously, he has plenty to improve upon, and the pressure of being the Heisman favorite will be a lot to deal with early on.

Not to mention playing for an iconic school like Notre Dame, which will add stress. Even so, Carr seems to handle it well.

Notre Dame will need a big season from CJ Carr if they want to return to the College Football Playoff

The Irish will be favorites in most of their games this season, with the line set at 11.5 total wins. That means the books are projecting this team to go undefeated, or at least close to it.

According to ESPN, Carr’s odds are the longest for a Heisman Trophy favorite entering any of the last 20 seasons. If that doesn’t tell you how wide open this race is, I don’t know what will.

Again, high expectations for this program, per usual. We all know how college football goes; any given Saturday can completely change your season, as we’ve seen numerous times with Notre Dame.

However, when you look at the roster as a whole, it’s stacked with five-stars. There’s a reason this team is projected in the top-5 to start the season. Carr will be a massive piece in all of it, but after his strong finish last year, he’s the least of the worry.

The losses will need to be few and far between this year if the Irish wish to return to the playoffs.

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