US NEWS: The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have chosen to pass on a postseason bowl game after the College Football Playoff committee left them out of the 12-team field.
In a statement released Sunday, the program announced that the team had collectively decided to withdraw from bowl consideration following the 2025 regular 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 school said.
Notre Dame finished the year 10-2, with losses to Miami and Texas A&M coming early in the schedule. Heading into the final weekend, the Irish were ranked ahead of Miami in the playoff committee’s rankings, but the Hurricanes ultimately claimed the last spot in the bracket.
The committee ranked Miami ahead of Notre Dame, while also placing James Madison and Tulane higher in the overall pecking order for at-large consideration.
CFP Committee Chair Hunter Yurachek explained the close call during an appearance on ESPN, pointing to the head-to-head result as the deciding factor.
“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,” Yurachek said.
He added that committee members re-watched the September matchup between the teams because it had taken place so early in the season, and the review sparked lively discussion among the group.
With the decision now made, Notre Dame players and coaches will head into the offseason focused on returning stronger next fall.