Notre Dame could not have asked for a better outcome on Championship Weekend. The Fighting Irish really only needed BYU to lose to Texas Tech in the Big 12 Championship, but they were also gifted with Alabama losing in horrible fashion to Georgia in the SEC Championship game.
Both losses are great for Notre Dame when it comes to their spot in the CFP, but of course, there is that one nagging Miami team that is still in the conversation. The debate has been raging all week over whether or not Notre Dame or Miami should make it in, and it will all come to a head tomorrow.
Before the Big Ten Championship, though, the crew of FOX Big Noon Kickoff had Marcus Freeman on to talk about how he thinks the bracket should shake out and why he believes Notre Dame should be in, and it comes down to one question.
"We're very deserving of being in this playoff."
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) December 7, 2025
Marcus Freeman makes the case for @NDFootball to make the CFP ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/3EUOrpg3FG
Who is the best team now?
Marcus Freeman believes Notre Dame has done everything possible to get into the CFP
It is true, Notre Dame lost its first two games of the season, and Marcus Freeman reminds his team of that quite often, but looking at this team right now, there is an argument that they are one of the best in the country. After losing those two games at the beginning of the season, Notre Dame has won 10 straight games by an average margin of 30 points.
That means that the Fighting Irish never had to sweat out a win to keep their CFP hopes alive; they were able to get business done. They took down a ranked USC team and a ranked Pitt team, and their two losses came by a total of four points. Notre Dame is playing like one of the top teams in the country, and Freeman believes that should be enough to make it in, and teams can't be judged on just one data point.
"I just don't believe you can eliminate a team based on one data point," Freeman said.
Notre Dame's losses are way more quality than Miami's losses, as the Hurricanes lost to two unranked teams and couldn't even make the ACC Championship game in a conference where a five-loss Duke could. Notre Dame has done everything they needed to since losing those first two games, but it is all going to come down to what the committee thinks, and there is nothing anyone else can do about it.