Notre Dame Legend Lou Holtz Gets Real On Why He Believes Fighting Irish Are “A Great Team” This Year Read more at

Former Notre Dame Fighting Irish Coach Lou Holtz retired with a 249-132-7 record as the leader of the South Bend, Ind. based college football powerhouse, having won the national title in 1988 with a 12-0 record. On Friday, Holtz revealed his innermost thoughts on Notre Dame’s chances to become a great team in 2024-2025, revealing the first and second reasons why he believes the Irish fit that description. Holtz, who coached the Irish for 11 seasons, said that he is feeling well at age 87, although he has mostly shied away from the public spotlight.

“I think this would be a great team for Notre Dame for several reasons,” Holtz said. “Number one, they have nine starters back on defense, and they were like seventh of the country last year.”

The Fighting Irish rose to the fifth spot in the latest 2024-2025 Associated Press rankings after an impressive yet harrowing 23-13 victory over Texas A&M football in College Station, Texas last weekend. Holtz also likes the Irish this season because of Duke transfer Riley Leonard, a dual threat quarterback the likes of which the Irish haven’t had in quite some time. Notre Dame will take on the Northern Illinois Huskies on Saturday at 3:30 p.m., with Leonard running the show from under and behind center.

“They have the quarterback from Duke who’s very good,” Holtz said. “They always have a good running back, good offensive line…The schedule is not very challenging,” Holtz added.