The College Football Playoff has done something once thought impossible: It has turned Notre Dame into a somewhat sympathetic victim.
How Notre Dame is handling that situation is also removing much of that sympathy almost immediately.
Despite having Notre Dame ahead of Miami in most of their previous rankings, the College Football Playoff committee decided to swap them in the final tally, giving the Canes the edge, presumably because their win over Duke looks a little better after they won the ACC Championship (Miami also beat Notre Dame head-to-head).
Notre Dame folks, understandably, lost their minds. Already the most entitled college football program in America, they had essentially been told for weeks that their resume was enough, and it wasn’t until the final decision that they found out it actually wasn’t.
“My feelings and the feelings here are just shock and, really, an absolute sense of sadness for our student-athletes,” Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua told Yahoo Sports on Sunday. “Overwhelming shock and sadness. Like a collective feeling that we were all just punched in the stomach.”
Bevacqua told Yahoo that the CFP’s weekly ranking should end, a sentiment echoed recently by ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit.
“There is no explanation that could possibly be given to explain the outcome,” Bevacqua said. “As I said to Marcus, one thing is for sure: Any rankings or show prior to this last one is an absolute joke and a waste of time. Why put these young student-athletes through these false emotions just to pull the rug out from underneath them having not played a game in two weeks and then a group of people in a room shatter their dreams without explanation?
“We feel like the playoff was stolen from our student-athletes.”
Despite being snubbed by the committee, Notre Dame had the chance to send a message by competing in a bowl game and putting on a show. Given their stature, they likely could have had their pick of great games to play in to end their successful season.
Instead, the school announced that it was withdrawing its name from consideration for a bowl game, effectively ending its season.
10-2 Notre Dame announces it will not accept a bowl bid after missing the playoff.
— Chris Vannini (@chrisvannini.com) December 7, 2025 at 12:54 PM
While there’s a good argument to be made that Notre Dame got legitimately snubbed here, this is a very Notre Dame way to deal with everything.
If this exact scenario happens again next year, the Fighting Irish are guaranteed to get into the CFP thanks to a clause in a memorandum of understanding (MOU) the school signed last spring. So long as Notre Dame is No. 12 or higher (or No. 13 or higher if the CFP is expanded), they must be included.
A newsy wrinkle from Bevacqua: As part of an MOU signed last spring, Notre Dame is assured of a CFP berth if it is ranked in the top 12 starting next year.
If this year’s situation unfolds next year, the final at-large team (Miami) would have gotten bumped for No. 11 Notre Dame.
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) December 7, 2025
So don’t feel too bad for Notre Dame. They’ve still got it pretty good.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.