"This is the bad side of that coin": Insider paints a grim picture for Marcus Freeman's Notre Dame

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish had a sensational 2024 season, as the Marcus Freeman-led team reached the national championship game. However, they lost to the Ryan Day and the Ohio State Buckeyes 34-23.

Notre Dame will look to correct its flaws but college football insider Jake Crain of "Crain & Co." expects a grim campaign for Freeman's squad.

"Notre Dame starts at Miami and then they host A&M," Crain said on Friday. "What if Notre Dame is 0-1 coming into the (Texas A&M) game? What if Miami beats them? I mean if you look through the rest of that Notre Dame schedule and you got a young quarterback.

"I mean, I hate to throw must win out there in Week 2 but when you don't play in a conference and you don't have a conference championship game this is the bad side of that coin."

He added that the Irish will have a tough road ahead to make the College Football Playoff.

"There is no way for you to redeem it and sneak through," Crain said. "Kind of like Clemson did last year, and go win the ACC championship, and get that automatic bid. So I'm very interested and intrigued in the situation Notre Dame is in."

Notre Dame is one of the few high-caliber schools that aren't in a conference. This can be considered a drawback to their quest to qualify for the expanded CFP.

However, Freeman and Co. would be fine as long as they avoid losing more than two regular-season games. Anything else would leave them in the committee's hands and without the chance of getting an automatic slot through a conference championship game win.

Who are Marcus Freeman's Notre Dame Fighting Irish's toughest opponents in 2025?

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish will start the 2025 campaign with a trip to Miami to face Carson Beck and the Miami Hurricanes. It's quite the start to the regular season, and the game could go either way due to the strength of both teams' offenses.

Another tough game for Marcus Freeman's team is the matchup against the Boise State Broncos. The Broncos made the College Football Playoff last season thanks to the inspired play of Ashton Jeanty. While Jeanty has since entered the NFL, the program still has a couple of stellar players that should step up in the upcoming campaign.

Then there's the game against the USC Trojans. Lincoln Riley-coached teams are always going tough to face.

However, if Freeman and his players can win at least two of these games, their path to another playoff appearance should be relatively smooth sailing.