Miami defeating Notre Dame in the season opener has become one of the major topics of conversation in relation to the College Football Playoff rankings. YahooSports senior writer Dan Wolken stated, "College Football Playoff committee facing its biggest decision ever: Notre Dame or Miami?"
The thesis of Wolken's column is that if Miami and Notre Dame both finish 10-2 and the Fighting Irish are picked ahead of the Hurricanes for the CFP, "the committee is setting itself up for the biggest controversy — and arguably injustice — in the history of the playoff."
Miami and Notre Dame have relatively comparable resumes. The best win for Miami in 2025 is over Notre Dame. The best win for Notre Dame in 2025 is over USC, who is 15th in the CFP rankings. Notre Dame's losses to Miami and Texas A&M are better than the Hurricanes' losses to Louisville and at SMU.
Miami and Notre Dame each have a loss at home and one on the road. The CFP committee is sending a message that quality losses matter more than quality wins. After the rankings were released during the last three Tuesdays, the CFP committee chair has emphasized Notre Dame's losses.
"If we get to the end of the season and both are sitting there at 10-2 but only Notre Dame gets in the playoff, Miami would be the first team in CFP history with a legitimate claim that it was robbed."Dan Wolken, Yahoo Sports
Wolken mentioned in his column that Florida State not receiving a CFP berth during an undefeated 2023 regular season was unfair, but that the injury to quarterback Jordan Travis made them a different team.
Notre Dame being ranked ahead of Miami with the same record and similar resumes sets a dangerous precedent of subjectivity and that head-to-head results do not matter. Wolken closed his column by stating that if Notre Dame is selected ahead of Miami with both at 10-2, "it will be the least sensible and defensible decision they’ve ever made."