Notre Dame cracks top five in first AP Top 25 poll of college football season

The 2026 college football season is just under two weeks away with Week 0 kicking things off. But before we see action on the field, the first Associated Press Top 25 poll has been released and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are starting off the year on a high note.

Monday marked the release of the first poll for the college football season and Notre Dame checked in at No. 4 overall. This comes after a disappointing season for the Fighting Irish, missing out on the College Football Playoff and then declining a bowl game invite. That all came after a 0-2 start but saw the Fighting Irish run the table the rest of the way.

But going into this season, expectations are high for Notre Dame.

They are considered one of the preseason favorites and quarterback C.J. Carr is one of the early Heisman favorites as well. Notre Dame is welcoming back some key players from their core and also added a very impressive recruiting and transfer portal class.

Ohio State took the top spot, followed by No. 2 Oregon, No. 3 Georgia, No. 4 Notre Dame and No. 5 Texas. Below is the full poll released by the AP on Monday afternoon:

Full preseason AP Top 25

1. Ohio State (1,672 voting points, 40 first-place votes)
2. Oregon (1,597, 14)
3. Georgia (1,513)
4. Notre Dame (1,510, 6)
5. Texas (1,483)
6. Indiana (1,440, 8)
7. Miami (1,379, 1)
8. Texas A&M (1,131)
9. Ole Miss (1,102)
10. Oklahoma (1,047)
11. LSU (988)
12. Texas Tech (983)
13. Alabama (904)
14. Tied at 14: BYU (839)
15. Tied at 14: USC (839)
16. Michigan (718)
17. Washington (501)
18. Penn State (482)
19. SMU (434)
20. Tennessee (394)
21. Utah (304)
22. Iowa (260)
23. Houston (252)
24. Louisville (194)
25. Missouri (117)

Notre Dame will open the season at Lambeau Field as they will take on Wisconsin in the Shamrock Series game. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. CT.

The post Notre Dame cracks top five in first AP Top 25 poll of college football season appeared first on ChiCitySports.