Notre Dame toppled No. 1 Miami, but last year's College Football Playoff snub won't let Irish exhale

Marcus Freeman knows a signature victory over the top-ranked Hurricanes boosts playoff odds, but three regular-season games remain to make sure the committee has no excuses

Nov 9, 2026 at 1:55 pm ET • 4 min read

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Marcus Freeman had just beaten the No. 1 team in the country. He still didn't care about the College Football Playoff Rankings.

"We don't need to focus on it. We don't need to talk about it," Freeman said. "Our job was to leave no doubt today, and they did."

Days before Notre Dame's 31-24 win over Miami on Saturday night, Freeman told his players to use the CFP Rankings as motivation, if they wanted. The committee's first release put the Irish at No. 11, seven spots below where the AP poll had them. Fans grew angry, of course. It was a reminder of last season, when the committee flipped Miami and Notre Dame in a last-minute change, leaving the Irish out of the playoff.

"I was asked the same question on (ESPN's College) GameDay, like it really doesn't matter where we were ranked," Freeman said. "We learned that last year. It doesn't matter what you're ranked until the last week, and that's the truth."

After all, those who don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it. The Irish finished the 2025 regular season on a tear, winning 10 straight to finish 10-2. They sat at No. 10 entering conference championship weekend, two spots ahead of Miami, with a playoff berth within reach. Neither team played that week, but when the final rankings came out, Miami was No. 10 and in the field. Notre Dame was No. 11, the first team out

After five weeks of ranking Notre Dame above Miami, the CFP sided with the head-to-head metric for the first time when judging Miami and Notre Dame. The 27-24 loss at Miami in Week 1 sank the CFP dream months later, even though the committee appeared to ignore the result for five weeks. Notre Dame chastised the CFP committee and pulled out of bowl consideration, opting to sit at home after a 10-2 season.

On Saturday, Notre Dame beat Miami and likely solidified a spot in the CFP.

Remembering the snub, controlling their fate

"Yeah, we knew that our back was against the wall," safety Luke Talich said. "We knew that we had to win this game. And we didn't make it anything bigger than it was. We knew that this was a get-back game for us in a way. We felt like we left it up to the judges last year. And we knew that we couldn't do that this year."

The rules have changed since the last snub. Under the CFP's 2026 selection protocol, Notre Dame is guaranteed a spot in the 12-team field if it is ranked in the top 12 on Selection Sunday. Under that rule, last season's No. 11 Irish would have been in.

The question is how far Notre Dame moves in the rankings this week. Could a first-round bye among the top four seeds be up for grabs? The committee didn't respect Notre Dame's strength of schedule last week, sliding them to No. 11 despite the AP and coaches ranking the Irish higher. 

Meanwhile, Alabama was slotted at No. 5, four spots higher than the AP.

The committee releases its next rankings Tuesday night.

Notre Dame (8-1) raised its playoff chances to 92.7% with the win against No. 1 Miami, according to CBS Sports Forecasting and Projections. It was the program's first win over an AP No. 1 team since Clemson in 2020. 

"I want them to enjoy it, but tomorrow it doesn't do anything for the future," Freeman said late Saturday night. "We've got to go and work starting tomorrow for the opportunity we have next Saturday. That's what's important. No matter what you did today has nothing to do with what you're going to do next Saturday. The work you put in Monday through Friday will dictate how you play on Saturday."

Win over No. 1 helps, but work remains

Notre Dame has played only two games against ranked opponents, going 1-1, with a 28-24 loss at BYU holding the Irish back from the top 10 in the CFP Rankings last week. The Irish host Boston College (4-5) in South Bend on Saturday.

Notre Dame could further strengthen its CFP ranking in two weeks. SMU hosts one-loss Wake Forest this week, and an upset of the Demon Deacons could place the Mustangs in the top 25, giving the Irish a third opportunity against a ranked opponent.

SMU (7-2) visits Nov. 21, and the Irish close the regular season at Syracuse (4-5).

Notre Dame has won 12 straight games in November, the second-longest active streak in the country behind Oregon's 13.

Saturday's win against No. 1 Miami may have left no doubt, as Freeman said, but the players still view the rest of the schedule as an elimination threat.

"You know, since I've been on Notre Dame, I feel like almost all of our games have been playoff games," said Talich, who intercepted Darian Mensah and broke up a would-be game-tying touchdown pass. "You know, we kind of put ourselves in situations where we got to win. And so that's a great feeling. It puts pressure on you, but you know that you got to go out there and execute. And so every game is a playoff game to us."

Last year, the Irish left it to the judges. Three games remain to make sure they don't again.