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The Notre Dame Fighting Irish announced Sunday that the team will forgo playing in a bowl game after being left out of the College Football Playoff field.
Notre Dame was selected as the first team out when the College Football Playoff Committee unveiled the bracket for the tournament. The Miami Hurricanes leapfrogged Notre Dame to make the playoffs, while the James Madison Dukes and Tulane Green Wave were also considered more worthy of placing ahead of the Fighting Irish.
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Notre Dame Fighting Irish head coach Marcus Freeman, Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback CJ Carr (13) and Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive lineman Donovan Hinish (41) after the game against the Boston College Eagles at Alumni Stadium on Nov. 1, 2025. (Edward Finan/Imagn Images)
Hours after the picks were revealed, Notre Dame decided to opt out of the bowl game.
“As a team, we have decided to withdraw our name from consideration for a bowl game after the 2025 season,” the school announced.
“We appreciate all the support from our families and fans, and we hope to bring a 12th national title to South Bend in 2026.”
Notre Dame finished the season 10-2 with its losses to Miami and the Texas A&M Aggies. Both defeats came early in the season. The Fighting Irish were ranked ahead of Miami in the penultimate release.
Notre Dame running back Irish quarterback CJ Carr (13) calls an audible at the line against the Pittsburgh Panthers in the fourth quarter at Acrisure Stadium on Nov. 15, 2025. (Charles LeClaire/Imagn Images)
COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF COMMITTEE GIVES FRENZY DEBATE AS NOTRE DAME KEEPS OUT OF FINAL FIELD
As college football fans debated whether Notre Dame should have entered the final field, CFP Committee Chairman Hunter Yurachek opened up about the decision on ESPN.
“You look at the two teams on paper and they were almost equal in their strength of schedule, their common opponents, the results against their common opponents, but the one metric we had to fall back on was the head-to-head,” he said. “I encouraged the committee members to go back and watch that game because it was so long ago and we had an interesting debate from our coaches about what that game looked like.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback CJ Carr (13) celebrates his touchdown with teammates during the second half at Notre Dame Stadium on Oct. 18, 2025. (Trevor Ruszkowski/Imagn Images)
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“With that in mind, we gave Miami the nod over Notre Dame for the 10th spot.”
