Notre Dame opts out of bowl game
after getting 'punched in the stomach' by CFP
[December 08, 2025]
By MARK LONG
Snubbed by the College Football Playoff, Notre Dame snubbed its nose
at a second-tier bowl game.
The ninth-ranked Fighting Irish responded to getting dropped in the
CFP rankings for the second consecutive week by turning down an
invitation to play in the Pop-Tarts Bowl in Orlando, Florida.
“Overwhelming shock and sadness," Notre Dame athletic director Pete
Bevacqua told Yahoo Sports. “Like a collective feeling that we were
all just punched in the stomach.”
Although boycotting a bowl might be the exact reaction that many
Notre Dame fans wanted, it can't help the long-term viability of
non-playoff bowl games.
The decision also denies Notre Dame's seniors a chance for one final
game, denies underclassmen from a few extra weeks of practice and
denies a legion of fans — is there a bigger brand in college
football? — from watching their team play again.
Unlike Iowa State and Kansas State, which each got fined $500,000 by
the Big 12 for opting out of bowls because of coaching changes,
Notre Dame won't get punished because it's not a full-fledged member
of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Despite winning every game for nearly three months, Notre Dame fell
behind Miami in the final CFP rankings and was left out of the
12-team bracket entirely.
The Fighting Irish won their last 10 games by an average of nearly
30 points but watched championship weekend from afar, idle as an
independent with no options to impress the selection committee one
last time in a league title game.
Bevacqua and coach Marcus Freeman took the high road in recent
weeks, avoiding too much lobbying and believing their winning streak
would be enough to earn a berth over Alabama.
They were mistaken. Miami (10-2) ended up knocking the Irish (10-2)
out.
“There is no explanation that could possibly be given to explain the
outcome,” Bevacqua told Yahoo. “As I said to Marcus, one thing is
for sure: Any rankings or show prior to this last one is an absolute
joke and a waste of time. Why put these young student-athletes
through these false emotions just to pull the rug out from
underneath them having not played a game in two weeks and then a
group of people in a room shatter their dreams without explanation?
“We feel like the playoff was stolen from our student-athletes.”
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With BYU losing to Texas Tech in the Big 12 title game, the
committee ranked Miami and Notre Dame next to each other and turned
to the head-to-head metric to determine which one would get the No.
10 seed.
It was Miami, which beat Notre Dame 27-24 in Week 1 of the regular
season.
Hunter Yurachek, the chair of the selection committee, said members
rewatched the game and were struck by Miami’s shutting down of a
Notre Dame running game in a way nobody else did this season.
“it just felt like there was a little bit more athleticism on the
side of Miami versus Notre Dame,” Yurachek said.
The Hurricanes will play at Texas A&M in the opening round of the
playoff.
No. 12 BYU, No. 13 Vanderbilt and No. 14 Texas — and, to a lesser
extent, Atlantic Coast Conference champion Duke — are sure to have
issues with the final CFP standings, too.
“We are not entitled to anything and we’re not victimized by any
process or any committee," Vandy coach Clark Lea said.
Added Duke coach Manny Diaz: "What we found out today is no
different than what other schools found out, than what Notre Dame
found out or Texas or Vanderbilt or other schools. If you put it in
the committee’s hands, it’s outside of your control.”
Notre Dame has the biggest gripe. The committee dropped the Irish
one spot after beating Stanford 49-20 and another after not playing.
The real culprit was Notre Dame's 0-2 start, losing to playoff teams
Miami and Texas A&M by a combined four points.
Alabama, meanwhile, became the first three-loss team to make the CFP
field. Yurachek explained the logic after the Crimson Tide lost 28-7
to Georgia in the SEC championship game.
“Their strength of schedule was the highest in the top 11, and (it)
felt like in spite of their performance yesterday in the conference
championship, they deserve to stay within that nine spot,” Yurachek
said.
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