Heading into the 2026 college football season, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are expected to be one of the best overall teams in the country.

Head coach Marcus Freeman carries national championship expectations, and a lot of that success has been built on defense. The offense, however, has been grabbing a ton of the headlines recently, and a big part of that is quarterback CJ Carr going into his redshirt sophomore year.

Carr threw for 2,741 yards and 24 touchdowns last season while completing over 66% of his passes and throwing just six interceptions. The 6-foot-2, 215-pound pocket passer is expected to take that next leap to being one of the best quarterbacks in all of college football. There is a lot to love about this Notre Dame receiving corps, too, which on paper looks very improved and the deepest group we’ve seen in South Bend in quite some time.

To eliminate personal bias and offer a different lens on 2026 projections, I decided to run an AI simulation using Grok to project Carr’s passing numbers alongside the top eight pass catchers on this Fighting Irish roster.

Here is what Grok had to say, with a synopsis on what each player means to this offense.

CJ Carr’s projected 2026 stat line

Grok projects Carr to finish the 2026 season with 245 completions for 3,528 yards and 33 touchdowns in a 12-game sample size. That would represent a jump of nine touchdowns and over 800 additional passing yards from his 2025 totals, along with a strong yards-per-completion rate. For a Notre Dame passing attack with championship aspirations, that kind of production would be a tremendous step.

Top 8 projected pass catchers

No. 1 – WR Jordan Faison: 62 receptions, 820 yards, 7 touchdowns

Faison was the leading returning receiver for Notre Dame after catching 49 passes for 640 yards and four touchdowns in 2025. Grok projects him to continue as the primary safety blanket and yards-after-catch threat for this offense.

No. 2 – WR Jaden Greathouse: 52 receptions, 710 yards, 8 touchdowns

Returning from an injury-plagued 2025 season, Greathouse is a high-upside boundary player who can also work out of the slot. His prior big-game production supports a rebound, and if healthy, he could be one of the most dangerous weapons on this roster.

No. 3 – WR Mylan Graham: 45 receptions, 580 yards, 5 touchdowns

The Ohio State transfer brings slot versatility and is expected to see significant snaps in his first season with the Fighting Irish.

No. 4 – WR Micah Gilbert: 38 receptions, 520 yards, 5 touchdowns

Here is where some intrigue comes into play on the boundary. Grok projects an almost even split between Gilbert and Quincy Porter, but Gilbert takes the bulk of the production. His developmental upside earned him an expanded role in this simulation.

No. 5 – WR Quincy Porter: 32 receptions, 480 yards, 4 touchdowns

Porter projects as a size-boundary option and a complement in the mold of Malachi Fields. Both Porter and Gilbert are expected to play a ton of snaps on the outside.

No. 6 – TE Cooper Flanagan: 28 receptions, 360 yards, 4 touchdowns

Flanagan is projected as the primary tight end target in the red zone and intermediate passing game.

No. 7 – RB Aneyas Williams: 22 receptions, 210 yards, 2 touchdowns

Williams fills the check-down and screen role as the primary back in Notre Dame’s revamped rushing attack.

No. 8 – TE Ian Premer: 18 receptions, 280 yards, 3 touchdowns

This is another surprise from the simulation. The five-star true freshman earns a role in the offense down the stretch of the season. Grok also mentioned players like Elijah Burress and Cam Williams as candidates to fill that depth pass-catcher spot, but Premer won out in this projection.

What it all means

If these numbers are anywhere close to accurate, Notre Dame’s passing attack would look drastically different from what we’ve seen in South Bend over the last several years. The depth at receiver is real, the tight end production fills a need, and Carr’s projected leap would put him firmly in the conversation as one of the top quarterbacks in the sport.

There is a lot of intrigue surrounding this offense, and for good reason. The vibes are extremely high heading into the 2026 season.