Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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4 JANUARY 2026 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED N otre Dame has forever tooted its own horn over the grand standards it holds and how the high road is the only road at this prestigious university. The self-reporting of aca- demic misconduct within the football program resulted in 21 vacated wins from the 2012 and 2013 seasons. Later, an internal gambling probe in August 2024 led to a one-year suspension of the Notre Dame men's swimming program. These are just two relatively recent examples of the univer- sity wanting to remain trans- parent and above board, when it probably could've swept these scandals under the rug. Marcus Freeman has also become a case study in doing things the right way by teaching his players to embrace, learn and work through tough times, instead of running from them. "When you have failure," Freeman said after an 0-2 start this season, "great coaches, great players, great teams look at themselves and hold themselves accountable." So, when the university selfishly an- nounced Dec. 7, that it was opting out of any bowl game and taking its ball and going home after being left out of the 12-team College Football Playoff, that reactionary and hypocritical move went against everything Notre Dame claims to be and everything Freeman is trying to be. Almost immediately after the playoff field was unveiled with Miami (10-2) and Alabama (10-3) — and not the Irish (10-2) — selected as the final two at-large teams, Notre Dame released a short statement on social media de- claring its football season over, effective immediately. "As a team, we've decided to with- draw our name from consideration for a bowl game following the 2025 season," a statement credited to the 2025 Notre Dame football team read. "We appreci- ate all the support from our families and fans, and we're hoping to bring the 12th national title to South Bend in 2026." Does the Irish program have legit reason for exclusion frustration? Abso- lutely, especially given how the process unfolded. Notre Dame was slotted ahead of Mi- ami in each of the first five CFP ranking reveal shows, but not in the sixth — the only one that matters — with no cred- ible explanation as to why. In a story for Yahoo Sports, Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua pulled no punches after the playoff omission. "Any rankings or show prior to this last one is an absolute joke and a waste of time," Bevacqua said. According to the well-respected Jeff Sagarin Rankings, the Irish are the third-best team in the country and would be a 4-point favorite over Miami in a hypothetical playoff matchup on a neutral field, and a 6.5-point favorite over Alabama. "This has to be devastating for Notre Dame's team, not to get the opportunity to play in the playoffs," former Alabama head coach and ESPN analyst Nick Sa- ban said. "I'm happy for the teams that got in. But I just think there was one team that was left out that shouldn't have been left out." Sure, the frustration and con- fusion with the selection com- mittee and its process is under- standable. But the final bracket decision wasn't totally shocking. Miami beat Notre Dame head- to-head this season. Meanwhile, Alabama — despite three losses — played one of the toughest schedules in the country and still qualified as the No. 1 seed in the SEC Championship Game. So, with two at-large spots for the trio of Notre Dame, Mi- ami and Alabama to fight over, somebody was going to be dis- appointed because each of these programs held legitimate inclu- sion arguments. And while it's not completely clear yet on how Notre Dame's decision to skip a bowl game was reached — let's hope it wasn't knee-jerk when omission emotions were still running high — opt- ing out of one brings missed opportuni- ties and bad optics for a program that was finally perceived as less elitist and easier to root for under Freeman. First, the outcome of a bowl game for Notre Dame wouldn't matter. But what would've mattered is the benefit of the 15 practices that came with it to develop some younger players and start looking ahead to next year. Or, using a bowl game to provide the outgoing seniors one last trip and game to celebrate the end of their careers and the sweat equity they put into the Fight- ing Irish program. "There's a growth in all of this. There's development in all of this. There's ca- maraderie," explained Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian, whose Longhorns also narrowly missed the playoff field but still accepted a bid to play Michigan in the Citrus Bowl. "Sometimes a bowl game is about celebrating a season and finishing a season the right way." And Notre Dame's arrogant and pouty choice to opt out badly misses that "right way" mark. ✦ The Fighting Irish passed on 15 additional practices by deciding not to play in a bowl game. PHOTO BY MICHAEL MILLER Todd D. Burlage has been a writer for Blue & Gold Illustrated since July 2005. He can be reached at tburlage@blueandgold.com. UPON FURTHER REVIEW TODD D. BURLAGE Skipping A Bowl Game Is A Bad Look For Notre Dame