When the initial College Football Playoff rankings were announced on Tuesday night on ESPN, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish were placed at No. 10. As college football fans watched teams be announced one by one, the reaction to seeing the Fighting Irish ranked in that spot didn’t sit well with some fans.
In fact, a number of them were quite incensed at seeing Notre Dame ranked where they were.
What Were CFB Fans Saying About Notre Dame?
One fan could not believe that Notre Dame was put above the Texas Longhorns and Miami Hurricane in the initial CFP rankings.
(Notre Dame should not be ranked above Texas or Miami for that matter)
— Max Chadwick (@CFBMaxChadwick) November 5, 2025
This fan wanted more explanation as to why Notre Dame was ranked above a couple of teams. This fan posted on X, “Someone explain to me why Notre Dame is ranked ahead of Miami, OU and Texas?” As for this fan, the person believes that the CFP rankings might have been, well, rigged. “Notre Dame no.10? Rigged” is what the fan wrote.
Well, this college football fan apparently was OK with the Fighting Irish at No. 10 but offered some additional perspective on the matter. “I’m ok with Notre Dame at 10 even though I think that is a little bit higher than they should be,” the fan wrote on X. “But they are in a playoff ever since week 3 anyways. Meaning they have to win or it is over.”
On3 college football reporter Ari Wasserman shared his thoughts after seeing the rankings revealed on ESPN. Wasserman wrote and posted on X, “Notre Dame is ranked ahead of Texas and Oklahoma. It’s not just Miami. I think this year’s Notre Dame team is the most mis-ranked team I’ve ever seen in the initial CFP Poll in a decade.”
The Ohio State Buckeyes were ranked No. 1 in the initial CFP rankings, followed by the Indiana Hoosiers, Texas A&M Aggies, Alabama Crimson Tide, and Georgia Bulldogs. As for the next five, they included Oregon, Ole Miss, BYU, Texas Tech, and Notre Dame.
As for the first rankings released on Tuesday night, this process, as far as determining who will ultimately reach the College Football Playoff Championship Game, will continue. Each week, the College Football Playoff Selection Committee will meet and then reconfigure the rankings based on each team’s results and analytics.
For Notre Dame fans, they are probably very happy to see the Fighting Irish ranked as they were on Tuesday night. That, though, doesn’t take away from the ire in other college football fans’ eyes.