Urban Meyer once believed Notre Dame could win a national championship. Now, he’s questioning whether the Fighting Irish are even as good as their record suggests. After cruising through six unranked opponents, Notre Dame finally faced a legitimate top-10 test against BYU and lost 28-24. And Meyer isn’t buying the idea that a 6-1 record automatically makes the Irish championship material.

“If they had to play Florida’s schedule, they had to play Georgia’s schedule. Heck, if they had to play Ohio State’s schedule, are you looking at a 2-3 loss team?” Meyer said during an appearance on Don’t @ Me with Dan Dakich on October 20.

Meyer was responding to Dakich’s question about how Notre Dame would fare against an SEC-level schedule. The Irish entered their October 17 matchup against No. 8 BYU undefeated and ranked No. 2 nationally, having beaten Wisconsin, Rice, Michigan State, Purdue, North Carolina, and Stanford. But their first ranked opponent handed them their first defeat.

BYU subsequently climbed to No. 2, its highest ranking since 1984. The loss also carried controversy, with the Big 12 acknowledging that officials mistakenly denied Notre Dame one final play after CJ Carr’s incompletion. Still, Meyer identified BYU and Miami as crucial tests of the Irish’s championship credentials.

Interestingly, his criticism comes just as he’s reconsidering his own predictions about college football’s competitive balance.

During an appearance on The Herd with Colin Cowherd, Meyer admitted that NIL and the transfer portal hadn’t strengthened wealthy programs as he originally expected.

“I misfired on the whole conversation about NIL and transfer portal,” Meyer said. “I thought the rich would get richer. What it’s done is make parity in college football.”

Meyer cited conversations with other coaches and compared UCLA and Alabama to illustrate how the gap between programs has narrowed. And October 17 provided compelling evidence.

For the first time in AP Top 25 history, five of the top seven teams lost on the same regular-season Saturday. No. 1 Georgia fell 27-24 to unranked Auburn despite being a 20.5-point favorite. No. 6 Alabama lost 26-10 to Tennessee, while No. 7 Texas suffered a 27-24 defeat against Florida.

Fifth-ranked Indiana also saw its 22-game winning streak end against Ohio State, which escaped 19-15 despite losing quarterback Julian Sayin to a shoulder injury.

The results pushed Miami to No. 1 for the first time since 2002, while Georgia dropped to No. 5, Alabama to No. 13, and Texas to No. 19.

And that’s where Meyer’s arguments intersect. If NIL and the transfer portal have made college football more competitive, repeatedly facing difficult opponents increases the chances of even traditional powerhouses stumbling.

But there’s a counterargument. If Georgia and Alabama can lose despite their resources and pedigree, why should Notre Dame’s defeat against an undefeated, top-10 BYU team cast doubt on its championship potential?

For Meyer, the bigger concern isn’t one defeat but whether Notre Dame could survive an entire season of demanding matchups. Even poll voters appear divided. The Irish dropped two spots from No. 2 to No. 4 in the AP rankings, while the Coaches Poll placed them at No. 8. AP voter Kirk Bohls also warned that Notre Dame’s schedule could hurt its chances in a College Football Playoff tiebreaker.

Without a conference championship game, Notre Dame’s November 7 showdown against undefeated No. 1 Miami becomes especially important. A victory would strengthen its playoff résumé and challenge Meyer’s assessment.

But the irony remains. Meyer believes NIL and the transfer portal have made college football more competitive, yet he’s questioning Notre Dame for losing to an undefeated, top-10 opponent. His real concern, however, is whether the Irish could survive that challenge repeatedly. And Miami represents their next opportunity to prove they can.