When the dust finally settled, Notre Dame was named the first team out of the College Football Playoffs. The Fighting Irish fell short in their quest to make it back to the championship game, as this time they were left out entirely. It’s a move that was polarizing, to say the least, but one that makes sense with the current way the committee operates.
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Notre Dame’s CFP Omission Explained
After running through Indiana, Georgia, and Penn State last year, head coach Marcus Freeman will not have a shot to win it all this year. The 10-2 Fighting Irish started the year 0-2, and despite winning 10 straight games, their strength of schedule, and loss to Miami held them back. Alabama made it into the CFP, a decision that many won’t like as they lost three games, but them making it to the SEC Championship game mattered.
Notre Dame is independent, so they don’t even have a chance to play on Conference Championship weekend. That’s something the committee is going to have to look into as it changes the way they can evaluate these teams. In the end, it seems like this came down to their head-to-head battle against Miami on August 31, which the Hurricanes won, 27-24.
The College Football Playoff Bracket pic.twitter.com/h8AgyBNCZg
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 7, 2025
Had the Fighting Irish taken down either the Hurricanes or Texas A&M, this wouldn’t be a conversation. Sure, their only two losses are to quality teams, and they lost by a combined four points, but that doesn’t change the fact that it came down to them and Miami. As the first team out, Notre Dame quickly realized their loss to Miami changed everything.
When comparing resumes, ND and Miami are about as close as it gets. One of the main arguments is that the committee had the Fighting Irish ranked ahead of Miami coming into the rankings, but all of a sudden, with both teams sitting at home, Miami somehow leapfrogged ND. That sparked much debate, including from ESPN’s own Kirk Herbstreit.
In the end, Notre Dame is missing out on the playoffs this season. Their ranked wins over USC and Pittsburgh meant little to nothing as they didn’t schedule enough tough games to get the job done. Again, this would be an entirely different conversation had they beaten Miami, but the committee proved that head-to-head matters. Had this spot gone to Notre Dame over Miami, this same conversation would have been had the other way around.
