Notre Dame’s Season Wrap-Up and Playoff Exclusion

Notre Dame completed the regular season with a record of 10-2, landing at the 10th spot in the latest College Football Playoff rankings right before the conference championship weekend.

The Fighting Irish had a bye this past weekend, as they aren’t part of any conference. Meanwhile, college football enthusiasts were hoping to see the Hurricanes play, especially following Miami’s victory over Notre Dame earlier in the season.

On Sunday, the College Football Playoff Committee decided not to include the Fighting Irish in the playoffs. Interestingly, despite having lost three games, Miami made the cut alongside Alabama. The Tulane Green Wave and James Madison Dukes also earned spots as the top teams from their respective conference championships. The Duke Blue Devils, on the other hand, won the ACC championship but were barred due to having five losses.

This decision did not go unnoticed in the college football community. The CFP Committee Chair, Hunter Yurachek, explained that Miami was favored over BYU following the Cougars’ defeat against Texas Tech in the Big 12 Championship—a loss that marked BYU’s second against Texas Tech this season.

When comparing Notre Dame and Miami, Yurachek noted that both teams were fairly similar in terms of strength of schedule and performance against common opponents. However, the decisive factor was their previous head-to-head matchup. Yurachek encouraged committee members to revisit that game tape, promising it sparked some “interesting discussions” about its context.

Ultimately, the committee placed Miami at No. 10 over Notre Dame, leaving Irish fans with a mix of disappointment and confusion about the criteria used for such selections. It’s always a tough call, isn’t it? Sometimes it feels like decisions like these just leave a lot of questions on the table.