During his Always College Football podcast on Monday, ESPN analyst Greg McElroy stated that if Notre Dame earned a playoff berth over Miami, it would set a bad precedent. Miami beat Notre Dame 27-24 in the season opener.
Miami finished 10th in the final College Football Playoff rankings and Notre Dame was 11th. With James Madison and Tulane earning automatic bids as the fifth and fourth-highest-ranked conference champions, Miami earned the final at-large berth.
Comparisons between Miami and Notre Dame was the most polarizing topic since the initial CFP rankings were released in week 10. Miami was 18th and Notre Dame 10th in the week 10 rankings. Then committee chair Mack Rhoades stated Miami needed to become more consistent.
Miami won its last four games and outscored its opponents 151-43. Miami outscored Notre Dame common opponents North Carolina State, Pittsburgh and Stanford, by more points. Notre Dame outscored Miami common opponent, Syracuse, by more points.
"They played on the Sunday of Labor Day. And that result has to carry weight because that's the other precedent that could get set in the event in which Notre Dame got in over Miami, is that you are essentially telling people...that outcome...We're going to overlook that one because it just doesn't matter. It's not indicative of what this team is or what this team is and all these other things. Essentially, telling people that the game doesn't matter and that the eye test matters more."Greg McElroy, ESPN
Miami's win over Notre Dame finally mattered
Notre Dame had a was ahead by one place over Miami in multiple metrics. That was ultimately not enough to make the difference in earning a CFP berth. The outcry from Notre Dame and their fan base has been that they have improved and so has Miami.
Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua claimed that they had one of the most dominant runs in the history of college football without any facts to support it. Notre Dame finished the season on a 10-game run against teams that mostly had losing records.
There was criticism, including by the CFP committee, that Miami lost to unranked teams. Louisville and SMU, who gave Miami its two 2025 losses, were both ranked during the season. Notre Dame was the only team in the CFP Top 25 to finish with a losing record (1-2) against other teams in the rankings.
Notre Dame started the season with consecutive losses after they were beaten at home by Texas A&M a week later. Through most of the six-week process of the CFP rankings, the biggest claim for Notre Dame was their losses to Miami and Texas A&M. The only top 25 win for ND in 2025 was over number 17 USC.
In the end, the CFP committee finally evaluated the entire season and gave Miami credit for beating ND. As McElroy stated, Miami beating ND had to carry weight. Multiple media members on several networks reiterated McElroy by stating that Miami beating Notre Dame had to matter.