The Miami Hurricanes can make Notre Dame quit football for the second straight year.
Miami was No.1 in the initial CFP rankings, which was not expected. Georgia was right behind the Hurricanes at No. 2; again, nothing out of the ordinary. But after that, it was pure madness, and when the dust settled, Notre Dame was sitting at No. 11 with its season on the line this weekend as the Hurricanes come to town.
Oh, how sweet it would be to send the Fighting Irish packing for the holidays. Talk about a Christmas miracle!
Notre Dame at 11 means if they lose to Miami…they are OUT of the playoff.
— Chase Daniel (@ChaseDaniel) November 4, 2026
The Miami-Notre Dame match was already massive for both programs, but after these rankings, the drama rises to the next level. CFP committee chairman Hunter Yurachek said during the ESPN broadcast that Notre Dame's schedule is not good enough. Maybe the Fighting Irish should join a conference?
Miami can kick Notre Dame right out of the CFP
Beating Notre Dame is more than enough to make any Miami fan, student, and former player happy. And beating the Irish in South Bend for the first time since 1984 would just add to the joy. But taking the Irish out of playoff contention is like a cherry on top of a dream sundae. For all the complaining and whining that Notre Dame did when Miami was rightfully chosen over them last year, it has come back to haunt them.
Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua went on a whining rampage last year, threatening college football, threatening the ACC, and using that leverage to work out a sweetheart deal for the Irish in future rankings. As usual, the Notre Dame people want something handed to them that they didn't earn. It's so typical of a program that swears college football can't survive without them. A program that hasn't won a national championship since 1988.
Miami-Notre Dame has always been a must-win for the Hurricanes
This goes beyond the CFP and that silly committee. Every time Miami steps on the field with Notre Dame, it's personal. The Hurricanes might be saying all the right things, and Mario Cristobal has been focused on going 1-0 each week, but no one can look at me with a straight face and say Miami wasn't a little preoccupied last week. As much as Cristobal has tried to build a soundproof fortress around Coral Gables, it's impossible not to listen to some of the outside noise.
When we thought this game was going to be a battle of top-5 teams, it meant everything. Now that it's turned into a chance to end Notre Dame's 2026 season in early November, it means even more. The one thing that has always made Miami Hurricanes football special is its ability to shut down its rivals. They did it to Oklahoma in the mid-1980s. They tortured Bobby Bowden and the Florida State Seminoles for multiple decades, and whenever the Florida Gators wanted the smoke, they got enough to choke on.
But that all pales in comparison to an opportunity to make Notre Dame quit. Knocking those leprechauns from college football relevancy? That's worth its weight in gold.
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