Kirk Herbstreit’s Notre Dame Take: More Wrong or Right a Week Later?

If you're a Notre Dame fan, you probably have an interesting relationship with ESPN.

On one hand, yes, no television outlet has covered college football as in-depth for as long as ESPN has, and when it says something, people listen.

However, ever since ESPN and the SEC enhanced their partnership a few years back, the network's coverage has unquestionably begun to lean a certain way.

You could say that was reflected recently during an interview by longtime ESPN host Mike Greenberg on the show "Get Up".

College football analyst Kirk Herbstreit was asked about Notre Dame in the week heading into the BYU game, to which Herbstreit roasted the Fighting Irish about their schedule.

Greenberg gives the lead-in question, which he starts with the ever-popular "people are saying" thing, and Herbstreit responded about Notre Dame's schedule by essentially firing it into the sun.

"Notre Dame plays two games where they're going to be challenged," said Herbstreit. "Think about what Alabama and Georgia and Ohio State and these teams with what they're dealing with. That cannot continue. That's an embarrassment and incredibly unfair."

Strong words from Herbstreit, but are they actually true?

He's spot-on that Notre Dame had its first perceived test of the season against BYU and failed, but are we doing a bit of a disservice to a previous Notre Dame opponent?

Because it happened in Week 1 when expectations were next to nothing for the Wisconsin Badgers, many walked away unimpressed by Notre Dame, despite a 41-13 victory at Lambeau Field.

However, the Badgers have lost just one game since, falling at UCLA just over a week ago, and sit at 5-2.

If it is able to get a road win against Iowa this coming weekend, there is a significant chance we can be talking about a playoff-worthy Wisconsin squad in late-November.

Notre Dame fought to a 13-10 lead at halftime over the Badgers before going on a 28-3 run in the second half.

While the Irish certainly failed at BYU, it's also fair to say Notre Dame isn't getting nearly enough credit for that early-season victory over Wisconsin.

When one glances over the names on Notre Dame's schedule, only one really sticks out as a national championship contender in 2026: Miami.

No offense to BYU, but even after beating Notre Dame just over a week ago, nobody was seriously taking the Cougars as a title contender outside of the state of Utah, and that's only more true after what happened at UCF this week.

However, if you're asking if Notre Dame plays a less difficult schedule than most, then folks like Herbstreit aren't going to find what the actual numbers show.

Jeff Sagarin has done a computer rating for decades, and uses strength of schedule as a big factor in his formula.

In Sagarin's latest rankings, Notre Dame checks in second nationally, trailing only Ohio State.

Because Notre Dame doesn't play an embarrassing schedule - not by a long shot.

I mentioned the win over Wisconsin in-depth above, but it goes far beyond that.

Sagarin ranks every team on the schedule it has played to date, and through Week 8 of the 2026 college football season, he ranks Notre Dame's as the 32nd most difficult in the entire country.

11 of the 24 other ranked teams have played tougher schedules than Notre Dame while 13 of the 24 have played easier schedules.

Furthermore, of the teams ranked in the top eight, six of those have played easier schedules than Notre Dame, while only Ohio State has played a more difficult one.

That includes No. 1 Miami, mighty Georgia, and unbeaten Utah and UCLA.

Perception is everything, but that doesn't mean perception is accurate.

Yes, BYU was seen as Notre Dame's first real test of the year, but in reality, that's because it blew out a Wisconsin team that has an outside chance of making the College Football Playoff.

SMU has also managed to get to this point of the season with just one loss, and if it can get by Wake Forest in mid-November, could be in what would essentially be a College Football Playoff elimination game in South Bend on November 21.

Some of the names might not come with the preseason hype that other teams get met with, but Notre Dame having four legitimate playoff contenders on its schedule at this point of the season is something only a few others can claim.

Now it's up to Marcus Freeman to have his team ready to show up the rest of the way, unlike how it did at BYU.

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