After being left out of this year’s 12-team College Football Playoff field, Notre Dame sent shockwaves throughout the college football world by announcing that it would decline a bowl invitation.

After the playoff was selected, Pop-Tarts Bowl organizers reportedly sought to match Notre Dame and BYU up in the Dec. 27 game, but the Fighting Irish chose to stay home .

Notre Dame is far from the first team to decline a postseason bid while being bowl eligible — just this year, Big 12 teams Iowa State and Kansas State said no to bowls — but it is the most high-profile team to do so.

Even Florida State, which was undefeated and snubbed from the four-team 2023 CFP in a controversial decision, at least showed up physically to its bowl game — though the Seminoles were blown out by Georgia.

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