Notre Dame football sends crazy, unprecedented message to CFP committee after getting ejected from 2025 playoff
Notre Dame football has set a precedent.
Head coach Marcus Freeman and Notre Dame football were dealt some difficult news on Sunday when it was announced that they did not earn a spot in the College Football Playoff.
After the Alabama Crimson Tide and BYU Cougars lost their conference championship game this weekend, it felt safe that the Fighting Irish would make the field. Instead, Alabama stuck ahead of the Irish despite a loss, and Miami jumped them for the final at-large spot.
With so much disappointment about the outcome of the final playoff ranking and the inconsistency with the overall selection process, the Notre Dame fanbase feels a bit shell-shocked. Where does this team go after getting the rug pulled from under them? Do they get ready for a bowl game to hopefully end the year on a positive note?
Well, we got our answer very quickly after the decision. Notre Dame has opted to withdraw its name from consideration for a bowl game.
In an official statement from the Fighting Irish program, it read:
December 7, 2025
As a team, we’ve decided to withdraw our name from consideration for a bowl game following the 2025 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 2025 Notre Dame Football Team
Did Notre Dame make the right or wrong decision?
In the college football world most of us grew up with, skipping a bowl game would have been poorly received, but it’s becoming more common in today’s game. While I’m a purist and would have liked another game for players like quarterback CJ Carr to get more live action, I understand why the Fighting Irish went this route. It will be unpopular, but it’s also a very different time.
There are a lot more things to consider than in the past. That includes, and begins with, if the team wants to play. In the modern world of NIL and the transfer portal, the players have a lot more control than they did in the past. Would enough players want to play to put together a product that lives up to Notre Dame standards? None of us knows the answer to that question.
More than the availability of players or even just the general wanting to play, Notre Dame doesn’t owe college football anything. After the questionable process, inconsistent criteria, and last-minute change of position that felt questionable at best, contributing to a broken system feels ill-advised. People don’t care about the bowl games much anymore outside of the playoffs, except for the general popularity of the sport.
Until Notre Dame gets a real explanation for the travesty of this final decision, or the criteria are made more consistent and understandable, Notre Dame needs to prioritize the general health of its program and players first and foremost.
The Irish bring a ratings boost to whatever game they play in, and without them, the good ole’ Pop Tarts Bowl will suffer due to the incompetence of a playoff selection committee.
College Football
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