Notre Dame, Miami and CFP Rankings: So Now Head-to-Head Matters?

Notre Dame checked in ninth in this week's College Football Playoff rankings, still above Miami, another 8-2 squad, but one that happened to beat the Fighting Irish back in Week 1. The fact Notre Dame continues to be ranked ahead of Miami is startling to many of the so-called experts, who just can't seem to understand how a team that lost a head-to-head meeting and holds the same record, could possibly be ranked behind.

Where Were These Folks in 1993?

This isn't Notre Dame's first run-in with head-to-head results being compared to total resumes. Fighting Irish fans of a certain age range don't need to be reminded of 1993, but some of the younger crowd may.

What happened was different, but ultimately the same as is being argued about Notre Dame and Miami today.

Florida State was ranked No. 1 in the nation and came to Notre Dame Stadium in mid-November for an upic showdown with the No. 2 Fighting Irish. The "Game of the Century" as it was hyped up to be wound up being won 31-24 by Notre Dame, as it held off a late Seminoles charge.

However, a week later, Notre Dame lost at home to No. 17 Boston College. With that loss, Florida State moved past the Irish in the rankings and wound up being named national champions after winning the Orange Bowl and finishing the year 12-1, although Notre Dame beat Texas A&M in the Cotton Bowl and also finished with just one loss.

Back then it was because Notre Dame's loss to Boston College was worse than the loss Florida State suffered that kept the Irish from being named champions - or so it was said. In complete honesty it was because the nation seemed to want to give Bobby Bowden a lifetime achievement award at the time, as he hadn't yet won a national championship at Florida State.

Ultimately, head-to-head didn't matter at all for Notre Dame in that case, keeping it from claiming a 12th national title.

Notre Dame's Win Over Michigan in 2018 Was Nearly Forgotten Nationally

Notre Dame opened the 2018 season with a victory of Michigan in Notre Dame Stadium. It remains the last time Notre Dame opened a non-Covid year on home its home turf, and proved to be Notre Dame's biggest win of the season.

Michigan went on a run after the game, marching off 10-straight wins before falling at Ohio State to close the year. Before Michigan lost to their biggest rival though, Dan Wolken (then of USA Today) was one of many national analysts that seemingly couldn't wait to try and forget about what happened in the season-opener.

Throwback to 2018 when @DanWolken had this to say about Michigan despite losing the head to head with Notre Dame https://t.co/73Md2eW7wF pic.twitter.com/GC1801Y03l
— EndZone Leprechaun (@EndZnLeprechaun) November 18, 2025

Nick Shepkowski's Quick Takeaway:

I've always thought head-to-head should matter, but that was in the days of the BCS or four-team College Football Playoff field when it was the head-to-head game was the one loss that was usually being discussed.

The more the College Football Playoff expands (and we're just at the beginning of that, it seems), the less important head-to-head becomes. I recommend you start losing the thought of what you've viewed head-to-head for years in college football, and start viewing it more like is done when comparing resumes ahead of the NCAA Tournament each March, where head-to-head is just a small part of a lot bigger equation.