The Notre Dame Fighting Irish won’t enter the ring in the 2026 College Football Playoff.

The Alabama Crimson Tide and Miami Hurricanes earned the ninth and 10th spots in the 12-team postseason, making Notre Dame the first team out and BYU the second team out. Tulane and James Madison, who won their respectconference championships, unsurprisingly received the 11th and 12th spots.

The Hurricanes defeated the Fighting Irish in a head-to-head matchup during the first week of the college football season. It was the deciding reason in Miami jumping Notre Dame, despite the Fighting Irish being ranked above the Hurricanes every since the College Football Playoff committee released its postseason rankings.

“The one metric we had to fall back on was the head-to-head,” said College Football Playof

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