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The Notre Dame Fighting Irish announced on Sunday the team will forgo playing in a bowl game after it was left out of the College Football Playoff field.
Notre Dame was chosen as the first team out as the College Football Playoff Committee revealed the bracket for the tournament. The Miami Hurricanes skipped over Notre Dame to get into the Playoff while the James Madison Dukes and Tulane Green Wave were also deemed worthier of spots 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 selections were revealed, Notre Dame decided to opt out of bowl games.
“As a team, we’ve decided to withdraw our name from consideration for a bowl game following the 2025 season,” the school announced.
“We appreciate all the support from our families and fans, and we’re hoping to bring the 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 Fighting Irish quarterback CJ Carr (13) calls an audible at the line of scrimmage against the Pittsburgh Panthers during the fourth quarter at Acrisure Stadium on Nov. 15, 2025. (Charles LeClaire/Imagn Images)
COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF COMMITTEE SPARKS FRENZIED DEBATE AS NOTRE DAME KEPT OUT OF FINAL FIELD
While college football fans debated whether Notre Dame should have gotten into the final field, CFP Committee Chair Hunter Yurachek opened up about the decision on ESPN.
“You look at those two teams on paper and they were almost equal in their schedule strength, 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 charged the committee members to go back and watch that game because it was so far back and we got some interesting debate from our coaches on what that game looked like.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish quarterback CJ Carr (13) celebrates his touchdown with teammates in 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 into that 10 spot.”
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