The Fighting Irish could’ve done something they haven’t done in a long time.
I spent a lot of time and crunched a lot of different numbers to try to answer this very important question: What’s the worst program that peak Nick Saban could have led to a national title? Michigan State? Louisville? Oregon State? Kansas?https://t.co/jjHviUvJlL
— Matt Baker (@MattBakerCFB) June 26, 2025
What if Notre Dame had been coached by Nick Saban at some point in the past decade? Would the Fighting Irish have won a national championship?
The Athletic tried to quantify an answer to the question, “what if Nick Saban had coached somewhere other than Alabama after 2015?” While the publication couldn’t narrow it all down to one school, the answer as pertains to Notre Dame is “maybe.”
The Athletic looked at 133 possible schools and found that Saban could’ve won with 33 programs, including Notre Dame.
The publication used a complicated process, as well as six determining factors. Those factors are: On-field success, recruiting average, five-star ceiling, money, NFL draft, and proven potential.
It’s a long read and math is involved, and you can check it out here. In the meantime, we’ll be wondering if Nick Saban could’ve done what Brian Kelly couldn’t and what Marcus Freeman hasn’t yet. Sure, both those coaches took the Irish to a title game — one against Saban — but Kelly didn’t win one in South Bend and Freeman hasn’t to this point.
Maybe it would’ve been different with Saban.
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Source link : https://fightingirishwire.usatoday.com/story/sports/college/fighting-irish/football/2025/06/26/notre-dame-fighting-irish-football-nick-saban-national-championship/84376037007/
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Publish date : 2025-06-26 21:30:00
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