The regular season is a vitally important element of college football.Traditional matchups and rivalries throughout the regular season create an incredible experience for fans of the sport. Additionally, underachieving in the college football regular season is more detrimental to hopes of a postseason run than underachieving in the regular season of any other sport.Former Alabama quarterback and ESPN college football analyst Greg McElroy unveiled a list of hot takes on a recent edition of his show "Always College Football." McElroy believes Notre Dame will win more games than Ohio State, Oregon and Georgia in the 2026 regular season.Notre Dame's setup for a dominant regular seasonOct 29, 2022; Syracuse, New York, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman greets his players after a touchdown against the Syracuse Orange in the first quarter at JMA Wireless Dome. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports | USA TODAY SportsThe Fighting Irish are one of six Power Four teams returning 14 starters from their 2025 roster, a group tied for the second-most among Power Four teams behind USC. Notable returning starters for Notre Dame include quarterback CJ Carr, leading wide receiver Jordan Faison and each of the Fighting Irish's top six tacklers.Notre Dame is a team on a mission in 2026. The Fighting Irish came painstakingly close to a national championship victory two years ago, and their exclusion from the College Football Playoff last season gives them a cause for vengeance in 2026.The regular season sets up nicely for Notre Dame to reach the College Football Playoff. The tallest regular season task is a home bout with Miami on Nov. 7, a chance for the Fighting Irish to avenge their Week 1 loss to the Hurricanes last year. Outside of its trip to BYU on Oct. 17 and home battle with SMU on Nov. 21, the rest of Notre Dame's regular season is comprised of Group of Six teams or Power Four teams that finished 2025 with losing records.Challenges for Ohio State, Oregon and Georgia in the regular seasonJan 1, 2025; Pasadena, CA, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Will Howard (18) passes in the first quarter against the Oregon Ducks in the 2025 Rose Bowl college football quarterfinal game at Rose Bowl Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters ConnectWhile McElroy believes the Buckeyes are worthy of being named preseason No. 1, Ohio State's 2026 schedule is one of its most challenging in recent memory. The Buckeyes travel to Texas, Iowa, Indiana and USC in the first two months of the season and host Oregon and Michigan in November.On paper, Oregon's schedule is the friendliest of the group, but it still features its fair share of challenges. Long before their trip to Ohio State, the Ducks take a trip to USC for a pivotal battle in late September. In the weeks following its trip to Ohio State, Oregon hosts Michigan and Washington, two teams projected as dark horses in the Big Ten this season.Georgia's schedule should aid it to a third consecutive College Football Playoff appearance, but the Bulldogs must exorcise road demons against Alabama and Ole Miss in SEC play. At home, Georgia encounters a challenging matchup with Oklahoma on Sept. 26, one that will carry significant weight in College Football Playoff conversations.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow