With the release of the first College Football Playoff rankings, the big question for Notre Dame, at least according to ACC fans and analysts was whether they would finish ahead of Miami. The argument was that because the Hurricanes beat the Fighting Irish in Week 1, and both teams have two losses, they should get the nod over Marcus Freeman's squad.
The College Football Playoffs committee did not agree. At all.
Notre Dame football earns No. 10 spot in CFP rankings
The release of the rankings on Tuesday night showed that Miami isn't competing with Notre Dame for a playoff spot. They're competing with about 7 other teams even to sniff the field. Meanwhile, there were some worries that the Irish might be the eleventh or twelfth seed, which would put them right on the cusp of falling out of the field.
The initial College Football Playoff Rankings and the projected 12-team bracket: pic.twitter.com/jdeKYWIvhs
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 5, 2025
Instead, the Fighting Irish secured the No. 10 seed, which echoes where they were in both the coaches and AP polls. That means ND has a bit of wiggle room, as they prepare to travel to BYU, which is currently the No. 7 seed in the bracket.
The other piece of good news for Notre Dame is that the highest-ranked ACC school is ranked below Freeman's squad, as Virginia is the No. 11 seed, and then Group of 5 representative Memphis is No. 12
One of the biggest worries since the Irish lost their first two games was that the ACC would have two teams finishing ahead of the Irish. At least for now, Miami losing two games has made that a moot point.
Notre Dame isn't out of the woods yet. There will be other rankings and other teams trying to push their way in. But at least for now, the Fighting Irish seem to have a bigger margin for error than we thought. Even if they absolutely do still need to win every one of their last four games.