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Brian Kelly’s been coaching football since 1983. This year marks the first time since then that he won’t be wearing a headset on a college football sideline. Instead, he’s taken a seat in the broadcast booth, joining CBS Sports as a college football analyst for the 2026 season. That gives him a unique vantage point on two programs he knows about as well as anyone in the country.
Kelly’s LSU tenure ended in 2025 after four seasons in Baton Rouge. Lane Kiffin’s now running the show there, and he’s got plenty to work with. His transfer portal class ranked No. 1 nationally, which means the expectations in Baton Rouge (already high on a normal year) are through the roof heading into his first season.
FanDuel Sportsbook put LSU’s regular-season win total at 8.5. Tigers fans probably won’t be satisfied with just clearing that number in Kiffin’s debut year, though.
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Before all that, Kelly built the second act of his career at Notre Dame, spending 12 seasons there and leaving as the winningest coach in school history with 113 wins. Marcus Freeman’s now in year six with the Fighting Irish, and by most measures, Notre Dame looks like one of the better-positioned teams in the country to make a run at a national title in 2026.
FanDuel has the Irish’s win total sitting at a hefty 11.5, with the under drawing more juice from bettors. Still, when you look at the schedule, there’s a reasonably clear path for Notre Dame to land in the College Football Playoff again.
So what does Kelly, someone who’s coached both of these rosters, actually think happens in 2026?
Lane Kiffin era begins with a bang
Getting off to a strong start matters a lot for Kiffin, especially with the Clemson opener setting up a season that includes a trip to Oxford to face his old team. Kelly pointed out that new starting quarterback Sam Leavitt missed all of spring practice, so there could be some rust to shake off. How he plays against Clemson could end up shaping the entire Ole Miss trip that follows.
“I think this really comes down to what quarterback plays better,” Kelly said. “If Trinidad Chambliss plays to the level that we all think he can, this could be a game that Ole Miss beats LSU.”
After that, LSU turns right around for a quick trip to face Texas A&M. Kelly said the Tigers can survive splitting those two games. If they come out 1-1 heading into an easier stretch of the schedule, he thinks they’ll feel fine about where things stand.
From there, Kelly’s got LSU knocking off Alabama at home.
“I think they’ll have great energy and momentum with just the one stumble at this point,” Kelly said. “I think they’ll beat Alabama at home.”
That sets up a mid-November clash with Texas, the first meeting between these two programs since 2019 (back when the Longhorns were still in the Big 12).
“This is difficult,” Kelly said. “I think they probably get beat at the end here, and I expect that Texas will win this game.”
Kelly has LSU closing out the year with wins over Tennessee and Arkansas, landing at 10-2. For context, that would be LSU’s first 10-win regular season since the 2019 national championship run.
His confidence in the Tigers isn’t random. It comes down to what Kiffin’s built on the roster and what the offense could look like.
“I think they’re better on defense. Lane’s done a great job in the portal. And then offensively, Lane and Charlie Weis (Jr.) will have that offense running quite well,” Kelly said. “They’re like every other team. They’ve got to keep their quarterback healthy. If their quarterback’s healthy, then they’re going to be minimally a 10-2 team.”
Can Notre Dame be perfect?
Kelly sounded pretty confident picking the Irish to run the table in the regular season, something they haven’t done since 2018. But a couple of games on this schedule aren’t as easy as they look on paper.
Notre Dame should roll through most of the first half of its schedule before heading out west for a date with BYU. Games in Provo are never simple, especially with a late kickoff, though Kelly didn’t sound too worried about it.
“I think Notre Dame has done a great job against the marquee teams, and I think they’ll continue to do that at BYU,” Kelly said.
That doesn’t mean BYU should be written off, though.
The Cougars could end up being Notre Dame’s toughest test of the season if they land anywhere near the top 15. Freeman’s record against AP Top 25 opponents during his time at Notre Dame sits at 16-7 (.696), but that number drops significantly on the road, to 4-4 (.500) in true road games against ranked teams.
If there’s one game circled as Notre Dame’s most likely loss, it’s the November visit from Miami. The Hurricanes beat the Irish in last year’s season opener, a result that ended up costing Notre Dame a Playoff spot while Miami went on to play in the national championship game.
Kelly’s not buying a repeat, though.
“I think everybody has penciled this game as one that Notre Dame could lose,” Kelly said. “I don’t see it happening. I think Notre Dame will win that football game.”
Kelly closes out his Notre Dame predictions with wins in the final three games, all against ACC opponents, giving the Irish a perfect 12-0 regular season.
