Notre Dame Announces Surprising Move After College Football Playoff Snub

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish withdrew from bowl game consideration after being snubbed from the College Football Playoff on Sunday (December 7).

"As a team, we've decided to withdraw our name from consideration for a bowl game following the 2025 season. 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," the team said in a statement shared on its X account.

Notre Dame was the first team out of the 12-team field, ranking No. 11 overall, with the final at-large seed going to the No. 10 Miami Hurricanes, with the No. 20 Tulane Green (American Athletic Conference) Wave and No. 24 James Madison Dukes (Sun Belt Conference) taking the final two conference championship seeds.

The Fighting Irish lost to the Ohio State Buckeyes in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game in January. The full College Football Playoff rankings are listed below with the 12 playoff teams listed in bold:

1. Indiana (Big Ten)- 13-0
2. Ohio State (Big Ten)- 12-1
3. Georgia (SEC)- 12-1
4. Texas Tech (Big 12)- 12-1
5. Oregon (Big Ten)- 11-1
6. Ole Miss (SEC)- 11-1
7. Texas A&M (SEC)- 11-1
8. Oklahoma (SEC)- 10-2
9. Alabama (SEC)- 10-3
10. Miami (FL) (ACC)- 10-2
11. Notre Dame (IA Independents) 10-2
12. BYU (Big 12)- 11-2
13. Texas (SEC)- 9-3
14. Vanderbilt (SEC)- 10-2
15. Utah (Big 12)- 10-2
16. USC (Big Ten)- 9-3
17. Arizona (Big 12)- 9-3
18. Michigan (Big Ten)- 9-3
19. Virginia (ACC)- 10-3
20. Tulane (AAC)- 11-2
21. Houston (Big 12)- 9-3
22. Georgia Tech (ACC)- 9-3
23. Iowa (Big Ten)- 8-4
24. James Madison (Sun Belt)- 12-1
25. North Texas (AAC)- 11-2