Notre Dame football was controversially left out of the College Football Playoff bracket on Sunday, Dec. 7. In turn, the Fighting Irish’s season is over.
Notre Dame, despite finishing with a 10-2 record, four wins above bowl eligibility, announced it is declining a bowl invitation a few hours after Alabama and Miami took the final two at-large bids over the Fighting Irish.
‘As a team, we’ve decided to withdraw our name from consideration for a bowl game following the 2025 season,’ a statement posted on the team’s social media account read. ‘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 with 10 consecutive wins after starting 0-2 after matchups with Miami and Texas A&M, both of which made the CFP. Ultimately, the Fighting Irish’s head-to-head loss was the deciding factor.
Notre Dame was ranked No. 10 in the final rankings reveal prior to the bracket being set on Tuesday, Dec. 2. The Fighting Irish were No. 9, one spot ahead of Alabama, for multiple weeks before the committee swapped the two teams on Dec. 2.
Miami rose from No. 11 to No. 10 despite not playing in the ACC Championship game. The Hurricanes jumped No. 11 BYU, who lost in the Big 12 Conference Championship to No. 4 Texas Tech, and Notre Dame.
Iowa State and Kansas State declined bowl invites as well and were fined $500,000 by the Big 12. Both Big 12 programs lost their head coaches, though, after Matt Campbell left for Penn State and Chris Klieman retired.