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Despite the overall narrative about Notre Dame's 2026 regular season schedule, the Irish face a lot of talent throughout the fall. There are several quarterbacks the Fighting Irish defense will face that will present multiple challenges. Some are more experienced than others, but the talent at the position overall on the schedule is a strength. Earlier this week, we ranked the top quarterbacks Notre Dame will face in 2026. We also broke down some other quarterbacks to keep your eye on.
1. Darien Mensah - Miami Hurricanes
The Duke transfer was one of the most talked about portal acquisitions of the offseason. Mensah is coming off of a season where he led Duke to the ACC title, threw for 3,973 yards, 34 touchdowns, six interceptions and completed 66.8 percent of his passes. This season, he comes to a Miami program that has plenty of skilled talent and significantly better defense than he had in 2025. The biggest key for Mensah will be consistency in big games and his willingness to use his legs. He's not a 'dual-threat' quarterback, but there's no world where he should end a season with -32 rushing yards.
2. Kevin Jennings - SMU Mustangs
Jennings is the most experienced and productive quarterback the Irish will face in 2026. He's also one of the most athletic signal callers on their schedule. Over the last two seasons, the 6-0, 192-pound Texas native has thrown for 6,886 yards, 49 touchdowns, rushed for 408 yards and nine touchdowns. Turnovers have been his kryptonite throwing a staggering 24 interceptions the last two seasons. In a similar boat to Mensah, Jennings has to be more willing to use his legs and athleticism to his advantage. Of his 408 rushing yards the last two seasons, 354 of that came in 2024. If he limits the turnovers and uses his legs, Jennings could be the most dangerous signal caller the Irish face this fall.
3. Bear Bachmeier - BYU Cougars
One quarterback I'm confident in saying will use his legs is Bachmeier who took over at BYU as a true freshman and led them to a 12-2 record. Last fall, the 6-2, 230-pound California native threw for 3,033 yards, rushed for 527 yards, had 26 total touchdowns and only threw seven interceptions. Bachmeier capped off his true freshman campaign by out dueling Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King in the Pop-Tarts Bowl in a 25-21 win; Bachmeier threw for 325 yards against the Yellow Jackets defense. The biggest question for the Cougars quarterback will be his ascension as a passer. He's a proven runner, but if he can make strides as a passer in 2026, he could move up this list.
4. Colton Joseph - Wisconsin Badgers
One of the biggest reasons we're as high on Wisconsin as we are is their acquisition of Joseph from Old Dominion in the portal. The 6-2, 200-pound quarterbacks is one of the most athletic quarterbacks on their schedule, and the Irish have to face him in week one. There's still some question around his transition from the G6 to the P4, but in games last season against Indiana and Virginia Tech, Joseph looked mighty comfortable against P4-level competition. He rushed for 179 yards and two touchdowns against Indiana in the season opener and passed for 276 yards, rushed for 63 yards and had three total touchdowns against the Hokies two weeks later.
5. Steve Angeli - Syracuse
Angeli's season came to an unfortunate end after he engineered an upset win over Clemson on the road in 2025. He was the nation's leading passer in yards during the time of his injury. One of the biggest reasons the New Jersey native is on this list is due to his poise. The moment will never be too big for him and there's been countless examples of this throughout his career at Notre Dame and now at Syracuse. If his supporting cast is able to step up and perform on a similar level to the '25 skilled talent, Angeli will have a productive season and will have almost an entire regular season under his belt when the Irish come to down in the final week of the regular season.
Braxton Woodson, Navy
Ryan Browne, Purdue
Alessio Milivojevic, Michigan State
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1. Darien Mensah - Miami Hurricanes
The Duke transfer was one of the most talked about portal acquisitions of the offseason. Mensah is coming off of a season where he led Duke to the ACC title, threw for 3,973 yards, 34 touchdowns, six interceptions and completed 66.8 percent of his passes. This season, he comes to a Miami program that has plenty of skilled talent and significantly better defense than he had in 2025. The biggest key for Mensah will be consistency in big games and his willingness to use his legs. He's not a 'dual-threat' quarterback, but there's no world where he should end a season with -32 rushing yards.
2. Kevin Jennings - SMU Mustangs
Jennings is the most experienced and productive quarterback the Irish will face in 2026. He's also one of the most athletic signal callers on their schedule. Over the last two seasons, the 6-0, 192-pound Texas native has thrown for 6,886 yards, 49 touchdowns, rushed for 408 yards and nine touchdowns. Turnovers have been his kryptonite throwing a staggering 24 interceptions the last two seasons. In a similar boat to Mensah, Jennings has to be more willing to use his legs and athleticism to his advantage. Of his 408 rushing yards the last two seasons, 354 of that came in 2024. If he limits the turnovers and uses his legs, Jennings could be the most dangerous signal caller the Irish face this fall.
3. Bear Bachmeier - BYU Cougars
One quarterback I'm confident in saying will use his legs is Bachmeier who took over at BYU as a true freshman and led them to a 12-2 record. Last fall, the 6-2, 230-pound California native threw for 3,033 yards, rushed for 527 yards, had 26 total touchdowns and only threw seven interceptions. Bachmeier capped off his true freshman campaign by out dueling Georgia Tech quarterback Haynes King in the Pop-Tarts Bowl in a 25-21 win; Bachmeier threw for 325 yards against the Yellow Jackets defense. The biggest question for the Cougars quarterback will be his ascension as a passer. He's a proven runner, but if he can make strides as a passer in 2026, he could move up this list.
4. Colton Joseph - Wisconsin Badgers
One of the biggest reasons we're as high on Wisconsin as we are is their acquisition of Joseph from Old Dominion in the portal. The 6-2, 200-pound quarterbacks is one of the most athletic quarterbacks on their schedule, and the Irish have to face him in week one. There's still some question around his transition from the G6 to the P4, but in games last season against Indiana and Virginia Tech, Joseph looked mighty comfortable against P4-level competition. He rushed for 179 yards and two touchdowns against Indiana in the season opener and passed for 276 yards, rushed for 63 yards and had three total touchdowns against the Hokies two weeks later.
5. Steve Angeli - Syracuse
Angeli's season came to an unfortunate end after he engineered an upset win over Clemson on the road in 2025. He was the nation's leading passer in yards during the time of his injury. One of the biggest reasons the New Jersey native is on this list is due to his poise. The moment will never be too big for him and there's been countless examples of this throughout his career at Notre Dame and now at Syracuse. If his supporting cast is able to step up and perform on a similar level to the '25 skilled talent, Angeli will have a productive season and will have almost an entire regular season under his belt when the Irish come to down in the final week of the regular season.
KEEP YOUR EYE ON ....
Braxton Woodson, Navy
Ryan Browne, Purdue
Alessio Milivojevic, Michigan State
------
Become a premium Irish Breakdown member, which grants you access to all of our premium content and our premium message board! Click on the link below for more.
BECOME A MEMBER
Be sure to stay locked into Irish Breakdown all the time!
Join the Irish Breakdown community!
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown YouTube channel
Subscribe to the Irish Breakdown podcast on iTunes
Follow me on Twitter: @TTrow5
Like and follow Irish Breakdown on Facebook
Continue reading...
