By Erich R Pilcher
An American Football season is unlike any other, no matter the level at which it is competed at. It doesn’t have the plodding nature of a baseball season, and it lacks the lulls that hockey and basketball provide. It is a nine-to-twenty-game sprint (depending on level of competition, location, etc.) to desired championship glory. It is what happens during that sprint that keeps us captivated, and in college football, it has opened a firestorm of controversy and hot takes.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish are currently 9-2 and are ranked ninth in the College Football Playoff rankings. Since starting the season 0-2. They have won nine consecutive games and have dominated in doing so, beating all opponents by double digits. Their ranking would give them one of the coveted 12 spots in the playoffs if the season ended today. That is where the perceived issues begin.
One of the teams Notre Dame lost to (in week one), the Miami Hurricanes, are ranked 12th. They currently have identical 9-2 records. This has led many to cry for Justice, brand bias, and other ridiculous claims. What makes them ridiculous is that they are not based in fact or even on what the eyes see.
POINT 1: YES, HEAD TO HEAD MATTERS, BUT…
Since the aforementioned loss, calling Notre Dame dominant would be an understatement. They have won 9 consecutive games by close to thirty points per game. They have done so against two ranked opponents (USC and at Pittsburgh) and two Group of 5 teams (Navy and Boise State) that could play for their conference championship. Notre Dame’s only other loss occurred to Texas A&M two weeks after the Miami loss. That loss was by one point (due to a botched hold on an extra point try and an egregious missed holding call on the game-winning touchdown). Texas A&M is undefeated and ranked fourth.
Miami is a different story. They lost at home to unranked Louisville, then on the road to unranked Southern Methodist University (SMU). Since that win, Louisville is mired in a three-game losing streak. SMU has surged, but the Louisville loss still hurts the Hurricanes in a larger way because of what they have shown as of late.
I do think head-to-head matters, but it is not empirical. Basing a decision on one game, especially one from week one, does not tell the whole story. By basing it only on that result, you are saying a team cannot improve or get worse. Two things we know to be false.
POINT 2: JUST COMPARE THEM AGAINST EACH OTHER
This seems like a logical conclusion, and it is one made in large part by Miami supporters. However, it does not help Miami’s case; as a matter of fact, it hurts it even more. In the table below (Courtesy of Bryan Driskell of Irish Breakdown), you see a better comparison is Notre Dame versus Alabama (ranked tenth). In almost every comparison, Notre Dame is better than Miami. This includes key metrics Strength of Record (SOR), Strength of Schedule (SOS), and quality wins.
IMAGE COURTESY OF BRYAN DRISKELL OF IRISH BREAKDOWN
POINT 3: WHO NEEDS THE COMMITTEE, THEY JUST GET IT WRONG ANYWAY
Before the playoff began in the 2014 season, college football used the Bowl Championship Series (BCS). This would put various rankings into the computer and average teams out. Another common crying point by Miami is that the committee does not know football. In the table below, we see that Miami would not even be in the playoffs using the BCS formula, as they wouldn’t be in the top twelve. Also of note, Notre Dame is ranked in the top twelve in all of them except one (A&H) and holds an average ranking of seventh. This would not only put Notre Dame in the playoffs, but also give them a home playoff game
FINAL POINT: STOP SCHEDULING NOTRE DAME
This is just as ridiculous as the age-old diatribe “Notre Dame should join a conference”. The only reason Miami is even in consideration for a playoff spot is that they beat Notre Dame. Without that game, they would need countless miracles to get back into consideration. Miami is currently fifth in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) standings. To even get to the conference championship game, they need to win at Pittsburgh and get a lot of help. If that win over Notre Dame was against a lesser team, they would not even be in the top 20.
As we approach the final regular-season weekend, the case for Miami is not comparing it to Notre Dame. It is what you see from them. When you watch Miami, do you see one of the 12 best teams in the country? I do not feel that is the case. They have been inconsistent, and in the games they have lost, they have given away the game through penalties and inexcusable turnovers. If Miami misses the playoffs, they have no one to blame but themselves. Not a committee and certainly not Notre Dame.
Pilcher's Point 
I appreciate the thoughtful breakdown in this piece, but I think the case for Miami deserves more weight than it’s given.
First and foremost, head-to-head matters. Miami beat Notre Dame on the field, and that result shouldn’t be brushed aside simply because it happened in week one. Every game counts, and dismissing early-season outcomes undermines the principle of competition. If the playoff is about finding the best teams, then direct victories should carry significant influence.
Second, Miami has shown resilience and growth. Yes, they stumbled against Louisville and SMU, but they’ve surged late in the season, proving they can adapt and improve. That kind of trajectory matters and teams that peak at the right time often make the most dangerous playoff contenders.
Third, the conference grind cannot be ignored. Miami plays in the ACC, facing a consistent slate of strong opponents. Notre Dame, as an independent, doesn’t shoulder the same week-to-week conference challenges. Miami’s path is arguably tougher, and their record reflects that context.
Finally, while Notre Dame’s résumé looks cleaner on paper, it’s padded by statistical dominance rather than decisive wins against top-tier competition. Miami’s losses were straightforward, competitive games, while Notre Dame’s narrow defeat to Texas A&M is explained away by “what if” scenarios. Excuses don’t strengthen a résumé, results do.
In short, Miami’s head-to-head win, conference schedule, and late-season surge outweigh Notre Dame’s statistical dominance. If the playoff is truly about identifying the best teams, Miami has already proven they can beat Notre Dame, and that should matter more than metrics or brand bias.
I appreciate the comment. The committee has shown that Miami is being compared more with BYU and Alabama than Notre Dame.
The committee will also weigh the fact that Notre Dame played a G5 Championship Game participant (and dominated them).
Unfortunately, I personally feel the committee is going to send a message to the ACC if Duke wins the conference championship. Have better tiebreakers. Also the developments at Ole Miss will be very interesting to see how the committee deals with that.
Love how your Irish pride comes through here, you really captured what makes Notre Dame’s case so strong. The committee comparisons and your ACC tiebreaker point were spot on, and bringing Ole Miss into it shows you’re looking at the whole playoff picture. Totally agree with the way you framed it.
Thank you. I’m not saying Miami doesn’t deserve a bid. I would put them in over Vandy. But at the end of the day the committee will live and die with the words, body of work. Unfortunately teams are not privy to what that specifically entails.