On Monday's episode of Nonstop, Kirk Herbstreit and Joey Galloway spent time mapping out their early College Football Playoff picture and national championship predictions.
Herbstreit landed on Ohio State as the No. 1 seed, Notre Dame as the No. 2 seed, Georgia as the No. 3 seed and Indiana as the No. 4 seed. Galloway had Ohio State as the No. 1 seed, Notre Dame as the No. 2 seed, Miami as the No. 3 seed and Georgia as the No. 4 seed.
The Fighting Irish, for both of them, stood alone at the top as the team they believe will win it all.
Our NATIONAL CHAMPION predictions… 🏆👀
— Kirk Herbstreit (@KirkHerbstreit) August 25, 2026
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Kirk Herbstreit and Joey Galloway predict Notre Dame will win the championship
Galloway initially had Indiana making the final four as the No. 4 seed, but didn't want to commit to not having an SEC team in that group so he bumped them for Georgia. Galloway had the national championship game being between Ohio State and Notre Dame, while Herbstreit swapped out Ohio State for Indiana. They also recognized the jinx that they could have put on Notre Dame and mentioned that these preseason predictions are certainly anybody's best guess.
Galloway gave Miami its flowers with his final four prediction, but it was a bit of a turn for Herbstreit not to have them among the last teams standing. Earlier in the offseason, Herbstreit expressed how impressed he was with the Hurricanes.
This prediction doesn't mean that he is discounting what they can do on the field, but it is more likely showing how much he values what Marcus Freeman and the Fighting Irish can be this season.
Notre Dame is poised to be a hot national champion pick this season with QB CJ Carr returning for another year as the starter and they don't have too many challenges on the schedule, allowing them a high chance to make the CFP.
For the Irish, it really comes down to how the matchup with Miami plays out in November. The Hurricanes also don't have many ranked opportunities this season, so it is just as big for both teams.
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