Notre Dame is No. 11 in the College Football Playoff selection committee’s first ranking, seven spots below its place in this week’s AP poll. The 7-1 Fighting Irish host No. 1 Miami on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET, on NBC.
Committee chair Hunter Yurachek said the committee was impressed with Notre Dame on offense and defense, but that compared with the teams ranked ahead of it, the Irish “don’t have that signature win right now.”
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Notre Dame’s only loss was 28-24 at BYU on Oct. 17, and BYU is No. 9. None of the Irish’s seven wins came against a team in the committee’s top 25. They beat Wisconsin 41-13 at Lambeau Field and Navy 35-13 at Gillette Stadium, and won 49-10 at Purdue and 37-26 at North Carolina.
In a bracket built from Tuesday’s ranking, Notre Dame would be the 11th seed and open at No. 6 Kentucky. Under the playoff’s rules, the Irish are assured a place if they finish in the top 12 of the final ranking, ESPN reported.
Miami is 8-0 and has won two games by one score: 43-35 in double overtime against Florida State on Oct. 17 and 38-35 at North Carolina on Oct. 31. The Hurricanes beat Notre Dame 27-24 in the 2025 opener, ESPN’s Mark Schlabach noted, and later reached the national championship game, losing 27-21 to Indiana.
After Miami, Notre Dame plays Boston College and SMU at home and finishes at Syracuse on Nov. 28. None of the three is in the committee’s top 25.
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