Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1543321
34 MARCH 2026 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2026 FOOTBALL RECRUITING ISSUE BY KYLE KELLY B en Nichols shared the same reaction as some, if not many, Fighting Irish fans when the College Football Playoff selec- tion committee left Notre Dame on the outside looking in at a chance to com- pete for a national championship. "What me and my dad said at the same time was rated R," Nichols, an Irish 2026 class offensive line signee, told Blue & Gold Illustrated at the Under Armour All-America Game media day Dec. 30 in Orlando, Fla. Nichols, a four-star prospect from Davison (Mich.) High, said he heard the news over the radio on his way to a hunting trip that afternoon. The 2025 Notre Dame football team, on the other hand, learned its fate in far more gut- wrenching fashion. The Irish found out in real time dur- ing a watch party on campus that same day. They were just eight days removed from a convincing 49-20 victory over Stanford, their 10th win in a row. But in the CFP selection committee's eyes, it did not matter. In a scene from Peacock's "Here Come the Irish," Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman can be seen vis- ibly startled by the snub. His immediate reaction, and his attempt at an explana- tion, reflected similar perplexity. "Usually, I can get in front of you and say, 'There's cause and effect for dis- appointment,'" Freeman was recorded telling his team. "Usually, I can get in front of you and say, 'Hey, if we would have done this.' Guys, I don't have that answer for this one." Notre Dame five-star safety signee Joey O'Brien of Wyndmoor (Pa.) La Salle College, who was an Under Ar- mour All-American, offered his own perspective when Blue & Gold Illus- trated spoke with him Dec. 30. "I felt bad for the team, but we just have to win," O'Brien said. "You can't lose those two big games. I know we won 10 straight, and we should have made it, but you can't lose to the two best teams on your schedule." Lingering questions remain about how two-loss Alabama initially jumped two-loss Notre Dame two weeks before the final reveal. It was even more head- scratching that a three-loss Crimson Tide team, which went on to lose 38-3 to Indiana in the Rose Bowl, still made the field after its poor showing in the SEC championship game. As Nichols noted, it made more sense that Miami slipped into the postseason since the Hurricanes owned the head- to-head win over Notre Dame. What still does not add up is how Miami leap- FROM CONFUSION TO CONVICTION How Notre Dame football's College Football Playoff miss is motivating the 2026 class Incoming safety Joey O'Brien, the Rivals' No. 25 overall prospect nationally, is pragmatic about the Irish failing to make the 2025 College Football Playoff, saying: "I know we won 10 straight, and we should have made it, but you can't lose to the two best teams on your schedule." PHOTO BY KYLE KELLY