News Article
Published
Oct 16, 2026 at 07:16 PM EDT
Notre Dame was one of the biggest snubs from the College Football Playoff last season.
It was their best season under Marcus Freeman, with the Fighting Irish rolling to a 14-2 record, but they still didn't make the cut. Now the Fighting Irish are undefeated at 6-0 midway through the 2026 season, but they haven’t really been challenged. Their wins have come at home against Wisconsin, Rice and Michigan State, followed by victories at Purdue and North Carolina and over Stanford.
On Saturday, though, comes the real test, as Notre Dame travels to Provo to face the undefeated BYU Cougars.
Leading up to the game, college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit sounded off on the Irish, calling their easy schedule an “embarrassment.”
“Notre Dame plays two games where they’re going to be challenged. This one [BYU] where they’re favored, and Miami at home,” Herbstreit said Friday on “Get Up.” “Think about what Alabama and Georgia and Ohio State and these teams with what they’re dealing with. That cannot continue. That’s an embarrassment and incredibly unfair.”
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After BYU, Notre Dame will host Navy, No. 3 Miami, Boston College and No. 24 SMU all at home before closing the regular season at Syracuse. Outside of the Hurricanes matchup, those are all games the Irish will be expected to win, just as they are against BYU.
Meanwhile, teams that could be on the CFP bubble, such as Ohio State, Alabama, LSU, Iowa, USC, and Oregon, for instance, have all had to navigate a daunting SEC or Big Ten slate. A two-loss Ohio State team with losses to Texas and potentially Indiana, for example, would still look better than a team that has beaten anyone Notre Dame has played or has left to play.
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This again calls into question how the CFP values teams and what could change in the future, especially with Notre Dame being an independent that never has to battle through a conference schedule.