Notre Dame will skip bowl game after being left out of College Football Playoff

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The University of Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team has decided to not participate in a bowl game after being left out of the College Football Playoff (CFP).

“As a team, we’ve decided to withdraw our name from consideration for a bowl game following the 2025 season,” Notre Dame said in a statement attributed to the football team. “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 lost its first two games of the season to the 10th-ranked University of Miami and 7th-ranked Texas A&M, which were selected by the CFP committee to compete in the 12-team tournament to determine a national champion. The Fighting Irish went on to win its last 10 games of the season, and was consistently ranked higher than Miami in CFP standings over the final weeks of the season.

Immediately following Saturday’s conference championship games, which Notre Dame did not participate in due to its status as an independent, ESPN projected the Fighting Irish to play in the CFP as the 9th seed in a first-round matchup against 8th-ranked Oklahoma.