Notre Dame missed the 2025 College Football Playoff because the committee put Miami and Alabama ahead of them for the final at‑large spots, using head‑to‑head results and strength of schedule as key tiebreakers.
Committee’s main reasons
- Notre Dame finished 10–2 after starting 0–2, with early close losses to Miami and Texas A&M; the Miami loss became crucial once the Hurricanes were directly compared with Notre Dame for the last playoff berth.
- When BYU lost the Big 12 title game, Miami jumped up in the rankings, forcing a side‑by‑side evaluation with Notre Dame, and the committee used Miami’s head‑to‑head win as the deciding factor.
Schedule and résumé issues
- Notre Dame won ten straight to end the regular season but did not have a win over a top‑15 opponent, which hurt its résumé compared with other contenders.
- Alabama, despite three losses, was rewarded for a very tough schedule and for reaching the SEC Championship Game, something Notre Dame could not match as an independent without a conference title game.
Aftermath for Notre Dame
- The final rankings left Notre Dame as the first team out of the 12‑team field, with Miami taking the No. 10 seed and Alabama the No. 9 seed.
- In response to the snub, Notre Dame announced it would decline any bowl bid and end its 2025 season rather than play in a non‑playoff game.
