So, some believe that Notre Dame should issue a formal apology. For what, exactly? Because the Miami Hurricanes somehow scraped past the Texas A&M Aggies in what will go down as one of the most grotesquely played games of the College Football Playoff era?
I’m sorry—perhaps I missed Miami’s championship-caliber performance.
The Hurricanes were out-gained by Texas A&M, produced nine fewer first downs, posted a worse third-down conversion rate, and lost the time-of-possession battle.
Oh goodness—that sounds like an offense that’s truly ready to compete with Ohio State in the Cotton Bowl.
Yes, Miami’s defense was stout—legitimately impressive, even—but let’s not kid ourselves into believing the Hurricanes are a more complete team at this stage than Marcus Freeman’s Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
Notre Dame, unfortunately, faced its two toughest opponents to open the season while breaking in a freshman quarterback in CJ Carr, a new defensive coordinator in Chris Ash, and replacing significant defensive leadership. Gone were two-time All-America safety and 2023 Bronko Nagurski Trophy winner Xavier Watts, middle linebacker Jack Kiser, and three starting defensive linemen from the 2024–25 CFP national runner-up squad.
That Notre Dame lost late to Miami in Week 1—despite such a massive overhaul—is proof of just how much raw talent this Irish roster possessed. Once the pieces were given time to gel, the metrics and analytics told the story.
Heck, ESPN’s Football Power Index ranked Notre Dame as the third-best team in the country—and that’s with two losses. For weeks, ESPN College GameDay host and College Football Playoff rankings voice Reece Davis openly stated he believed the Irish were a top-five team. Conveniently, however, that support went quiet down the season’s homestretch—just as the importance of FPI seemed to vanish as well.
The 2025 Notre Dame Fighting Irish were legitimate national title contenders and deserved—both on merit and the eye test—to be in the playoff field.
Frankly, if a three-loss team (Alabama) can qualify for the playoff over a two-loss team—last season’s national runner-up and arguably the hottest team in the country entering Selection Sunday—then why is it inconceivable for a two-loss Notre Dame squad to be chosen over a one-loss team?
Let’s be honest: Notre Dame’s résumé stacked up favorably with Oregon’s and Ole Miss’s—both 11-1 teams that benefited from dubious data points in wins over FCS opponents Montana State and The Citadel, respectively. Meanwhile, Oklahoma (10-2) never passed the eye test, despite somehow escaping Tuscaloosa with a win over Alabama.
A plausible—if uncomfortable—truth is that ESPN owns the broadcast rights to the SEC, ACC, and the College Football Playoff itself, along with the Big 12 and more. ESPN/ABC/Disney currently operates a media-rights monopoly of sorts. In that ecosystem, independent Notre Dame became a convenient pawn—used to juice ratings for the weekly CFP rankings show before being unceremoniously and unjustifiably dropped in consecutive weeks to close the season.
The result? The ACC avoided being completely shut out, Alabama once again found its way into the field, and the network avoided the unthinkable—two straight CFPs without the SEC’s Crimson Tide.
So, no—Notre Dame does not owe anyone an apology.
And furthermore, Jeremiyah Love—a clear cut above the rest of the sport—should have been the Heisman Trophy winner.
Unfortunately for Love, he plied his trade for the Fighting Irish. And in this era of mega-conferences and consolidated media power, the headwinds of bias continue to blow straight toward the Golden Dome.