Notre Dame football: What to make of the 10-2 Irish's College Football Playoff resume, and where they stand
As the snowstorm gripped most of the Midwest over Thanksgiving weekend, it brought a hushed silence as the snow fell all day on Saturday.
Some parts of the college football world erupted, like when Ohio State beat down Michigan at the Big House or when Alabama stymied Auburn to win the Iron Bowl.
Elsewhere, No. 9 Notre Dame went into the night and quietly improved to 10-2. There’s no more time for talking. There’s no more time for College Football Playoff statement wins. Now, the Irish just have to sit and wait as the CFP committee renders judgment and decides their fate.
What the Irish have is the ultimate test for the CFP committee. Is having a 10-game winning streak, the best player in college football and a defensive renaissance enough to clinch a spot in the College Football Playoff? That’s what Notre Dame’s hopes hinge on.
"We’re a changed team, a changed defense," Irish cornerback Leonard Moore told reporters after the 49-20 win. "We lost two games early but we obviously won 10 this year. There’s not too much else to say."
What we know:
Notre Dame’s 0-2 start meant their playoff hopes were well out of their hands.
The Irish dropped down to No. 22, they needed to win out and then get some help. That was out of Notre Dame’s control, though. They can’t control the opinion of others or force teams to lose.
They still got that help when Penn State and Texas fell out of the top 10, and again when the committee voiced its favor of the Irish.
"The committee really like Notre Dame as a complete team, again, defensively," then-CFP Chair Mack Rhoades said during a teleconference on Nov. 11. "Their run game is as good as anybody, if not the best in the country when you think about their two backs, Love and Price. Then Carr at the quarterback spot, he's the third-ranked quarterback in terms of passing efficiency in the country."
Rhoades has since stepped down as athletic director at Baylor. Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek took over as CFP chair and echoed similar thoughts.
"The committee has felt like, as you watched Notre Dame on film, watched their games throughout year, that they have been consistent, even in the early-season games that they lost by three in Miami and by one point to Texas A&M," Yurachek said in a teleconference on Nov. 25.
PALO ALTO, CA - NOVEMBER 29: Head Coach Marcus Freeman of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish leads his team into the stadium to start the second half of a college football game against the Stanford Cardinal on November 29, 2025 at Stanford Stadium in Palo
Disagree with it, run from it, ignore it, whatever. If the masses think Notre Dame doesn’t belong in the playoff, the people who make the decisions think the literal opposite. That's the best asset Notre Dame has at the moment.
The Irish’s resume might lack a true marquee win over a top-15 team. They have two losses by a combined total of four points. They do have a win over No. 17 USC, as well as wins over Navy, Pitt and Boise State. The Broncos are a sneaky good data point, as they’ll play in the Mountain West Championship game.
They also have the eye test, which lies in how the Notre Dame defense went from bad to very good. They have Jeremiyah Love, who went from elite to Heisman Trophy finalist. They have CJ Carr, who went from a freshman in his first-career start on the road to one of the best young quarterbacks in the game. They have a team, which is
It’s a longer resume than some will admit.
What's next:
Time will tell if that’s the resume that will return Notre Dame to the CFP.
What works for them is that the committee has the Irish at No. 9. It’s firmly in, barring some committee change of heart.
The Miami comparison is cause for so much vitriol. The Hurricanes camp, as well as Texas Tech, BYU, the ACC and now Texas, for some reason, are taking shots at the Irish for their schedule and situation.
The Hurricanes believe their head-to-head should vault them above Notre Dame. There’s merit to that argument. However, what’s working against the ‘Canes is how they lost to unranked Louisville and SMU in late October and early November. A team can’t lose that late in the season and expect to have control of your CFP hopes.
The simple solution is to put both Notre Dame and Miami in the playoff. They’re both deserving, and someone needs to be left out. It might be one of the glut of SEC teams that sit on the bubble, like Alabama. But, should a team be penalized for playing in its conference title game? That’s a question for the committee.
What Notre Dame has is what it has put forth on the field. The Irish have proved they’re an improved team from Weeks 1 and 3. The Irish have to hope that’s enough.
"We have improved as much as anybody in the country, been playing as well as anybody in the country and we have, in my opinion, the best player in the country," Irish head coach Marcus Freeman said. "That’s what you want. You want the best teams in the country now. Who’s the best teams for the playoffs right now? I truly believe we’re one."