Notre Dame football declines bowl after being left out of CFP

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After being left out of the College Football Playoff, Notre Dame football has decided to skip out on bowl season.

The Fighting Irish (10-2), who were the "first team out" of the CFP despite being ranked No. 11 in the final poll, put out a statement Sunday afternoon withdrawing from bowl game consideration.

"As a team, we've decided to withdraw our name from consideration for a bowl game following the 2025 season," a statement posted on the team's social media account read. "We appreciate all the support from our families and fans, and we're hoping to bring the 12th national title to South Bend in 2026."

Notre Dame was optimistic it would make the 12-team CFP field. The Fighting Irish were in the top 10 in each of the five previous rankings going into Sunday, consistently ahead of Miami ― despite the Hurricanes having the same record and holding a head-to-head win over the Irish.

Going into conference championship game weekend, teams 9-12 Alabama, Notre Dame, BYU and Miami in that order. Alabama lost to Georgia, 28-7, in the SEC Championship game, while BYU was defeated by Texas Tech, 34-7, by Texas Tech. Notre Dame and Miami were off.

Despite a lopsided loss, Alabama (10-3) did not move in the rankings. BYU dropped from 11 to 12, sliding Miami and Notre Dame next to each other. After weeks of not factoring in the head-to-head matchup, the CFP committee finally used it to select Miami over the Irish.

Austin Hough is a sports editor within the Center for Community Journalism at USA Today Co., overseeing high school sports and Notre Dame athletics coverage for five Indiana newspapers. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @AustinRHough. Hough can be emailed at ahough@usatodayco.com.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Notre Dame football declines bowl after being left out of CFP

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