How SMU's Blowout Loss Could Impact Notre Dame's CFP Resume

Before Notre Dame began disassembling Boston College on Saturday, a big ACC game was taking place in Dallas, despite not getting nearly the amount of attention it deserved.

No. 13 Wake Forest (8-1) went to SMU (7-2). Despite the Demon Deacons being just a three-point favorite, they proceeded to obliterate SMU, 49-7.

Had SMU won, there is a great chance that it would have been ranked when it comes to Notre Dame next weekend.

Instead, the Mustangs will enter at 7-3 and again out of the top 25. Assuming Notre Dame takes care of business, that should end any hope of it being ranked again by season's end.

So what does the SMU blowout loss mean for Notre Dame's resume as we enter the final few weeks of the 2026 season?

One Less Potential Ranked Win

A quick skim of Notre Dame's College Football Playoff resume shows a huge win over a national-title-contending Miami team, followed by a whole lot of meh.

Wisconsin, which slipped into the AP Poll top 25 a few short weeks ago, lost to lowly Maryland on Saturday, removing itself as a potential ranked win as well.

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For Notre Dame, it's the win over Miami, a Grand Canyon of sorts, and then wins over the likes of Wisconsin, North Carolina, Stanford, and Boston College.

At the end of the day, Notre Dame's resume, short of the win over Miami, ends up being a joke.

The good news for Notre Dame is that resumes don't win games in the College Football Playoff, but actual teams playing in games do.

Notre Dame Just Needs to Keep Winning

While resumes end up contributing to the rankings, Notre Dame just needs to take care of its own business and everything will be fine.

After checking in at No. 5 this week, there would appear to be plenty of a path for the Fighting Irish to sneak into the top-four, and get the first round bye that then comes with that.

The question then turns into, what's best for Notre Dame's chances to ultimately win the national championship?

A first round bye would mean one less game, and even if its a three-touchdown favorite against a team like Boise State, it's still a game that needs to be played, and as we know, anytime that happens, then so can injuries - just like how defensive tackle Rylie Mills was lost for the rest of the postseason in the 2024 win over Indiana.

On the other hand, Notre Dame could realistically go from finishing the regular season on November 28 at Syracuse and not playing again until potentially New Year's Day, if it were to earn a bye, as rust would be an obvious concern.

Which is best for Notre Dame and it's chances to hoist the big trophy at the end of the year?

That'll be very much up for debate across Notre Dame land over the next three weeks.

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