Breaking down Notre Dame’s ranking in the first CFP Poll of 2026

Notre Dame football found out on Tuesday night what the College Football Playoff committee thinks of them, and it wasn’t pretty.

The Irish were ranked as the No. 11 team, which means they’d be in right now, but with that stop comes plenty of questions. Those aren’t just for Notre Dame, they’re for plenty of other teams across the county that don’t feel great about their chances of making the 12-team playoff.

After having a chance to think it over, I’ve got more than a few thoughts on Notre Dame’s ranking and the current field. Find out what I think of the College Football Playoff committee’s first rankings of the 2026 season.

Notre Dame was given a terrible ranking

CFP chair Hunter Yurachek:
"They are a very good football team. But when you look at Notre Dame's schedule and the wins they have vs. the teams that are ahead of them, they don't have that signature win right now. They lost in their only Top-25 matchup at BYU. Their… pic.twitter.com/2YqK1HVw1M

— Matt Fortuna (@Matt_Fortuna) November 4, 2026

I understand some of the committee’s thoughts, as there was no way that they’d be ranking BYU over the Irish, but placing 6-2 Alabama, Texas, and Ole Miss above them doomed Notre Dame’s ranking. It’s pretty absurd to think that multiple teams with two-losses were ranked ahead of the Irish, but that’s where we are.

Strength of schedule matters for Notre Dame

"Glad the committee is starting to really value strength of schedule," ESPN analyst Greg McElroy says as Notre Dame is revealed at No. 11 and UCLA at No. 8. https://t.co/wM4foDlNe5

— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) November 4, 2026

When the Irish made their schedule, it’s pretty fair to say that they didn’t expect some of these teams to be so average. Wisconsin and Michigan State have fallen on hard times, but they’re still solid programs, the same can be said for Stanford. SMU is a solid team, but hasn’t been very good the last few games. It’s hard to project where a program will be when Notre Dame plays them, and unfortunately, this season the tree has been pretty bare with the exception of BYU and Miami. Speaking of the Hurricanes…

Notre Dame must beat Miami

Game week
🆚 Miami
📍 South Bend, Indiana
📆 Saturday, Nov. 7
⏰ 7:30 PM ET
📺 NBC | Peacock#GoIrish☘️ | @tirerackpic.twitter.com/xO17lohHXw

— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) November 2, 2026

The committee made it pretty clear, if the Irish lose on Saturday, they’re going to be left out again. By placing all those teams ahead of them, they’ve giving Notre Dame one option, beat Miami. A win over the No. 1 team in the country would go a long way with them, and it’s really the only way that I can see that the Irish get in. Chaos has happened before, but you don’t want to rely on that, just beat Miami.

The SEC bias is real and hurting college football

The crew's reaction to the CFP committee ranking 6-2 Alabama at No. 5 👀 pic.twitter.com/feauff5ov8

— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) November 4, 2026

This is the biggest part of the rankings that make me upset, the confirmation of the SEC bias. Almost half of the teams would be from one conference if the playoff started today, and which is a travesty considering many of them already have two losses. You’ll hear no argument from me about Georgia, they’ve earned their spot, but Alabama being No. 5? Texas at No. 7? Ole Miss at No. 10, ahead of Notre Dame? It’s so disappointing to see the committee favoring just one conference, the same one that hasn’t been able to call it the home of the National Champion for three years. That conference, the Big Ten, only had two teams in, and they should have some gripes with these rankings as well.

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This article originally appeared on Fighting Irish Wire: Breaking down Notre Dame’s ranking in the first CFP Poll of 2026