Notre Dame Learns Tough Lessons As Miami Earns CFP Title Bid

2025 CFP field was and is wide open

While the modern transfer portal age has some downsides to it, such as tampering and pay-for-play deals disguised as above-board NIL, it has clearly done one thing that is probably good for the sport.

It has leveled out the playing field. No longer do we see 3-4 teams hoarding most of the 4-5 star talent. Now, talent is spread out more evenly across the country, allowing more teams a chance to compete for a title than there ever was before.

For Notre Dame, this season was a missed opportunity. There is no clearly dominant team in this year's CFP field, any group that got in the field and played well could win it all. Notre Dame fans can't help but observe this CFP bracket unfold and ask "what if". It's all just unfortunate.

MIAMI IS HEADED TO THE CFP NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP 🏆

Carson Beck and the Canes will be playing for a title at home 🌴 pic.twitter.com/yCaUQAxXpj
— ESPN (@espn) January 9, 2026

Notre Dame was not ready to play when the 2025 season started

While it hurts to see Miami land in the national title game from the Notre Dame perspective, the Irish have nobody to blame but themselves. The Irish had a chance to beat the Hurricanes to open the year and failed to do so, catapulting Miami into a CFP title run season.

Timing was not on the Irish's side this year. Breaking in a new starting quarterback and a new defensive coordinator on the road vs a talented Miami roster was always dangerous, the margin of error available to make mistakes and still win was narrow, and the Irish didn't get the job done.

Breaking in these new Notre Dame pieces is not an excuse, but it is one of the reasons Notre Dame started 0-2.

Marcus Freeman has stated that he wants his version of Notre Dame to be offensive and defensive line-driven. I'm all for that. Miami also has this philosophy. And it was much more dominant along the lines throughout the entire season than Notre Dame, and won the initial battle back in week one. These groups must improve for the Irish to get back in the title hunt.

The SEC gets exposed in 2025

SEC commissioner Greg Sankey just can't help but to try to push for more SEC teams to make the CFP field every time he gets in front of a microphone, but the reality is, his conference no longer has the market share on talent like it once did.

This season, the SEC finished 1-8 vs power-four teams in bowls, 0-3 vs power-four teams in the CFP, and will not have a team in the title game for the third year in a row. This conference makes a lot of money, but it isn't what it used to be.

Overall, the 2025 CFP has been a painful reminder of what could've been for Notre Dame and reaffirms just how much each game matters and that if you aren't fully prepared to battle, title hopes and dreams can be shattered before fall even arrives on the calendar.