Dec. 5, 2025Up to date Dec. 6, 2025, 2:55 p.m. ET
Miami and Notre Dame are each 10-2.
Miami beat Notre Dame head-to-head on Aug. 31.
So why have the Preventing Irish constantly been above the Hurricanes within the School Soccer Playoff rankings?
Good query. One we have not actually gotten reply from the CFP committee but. Apart from “eye check” and “good losses.”
And who is aware of? Possibly each get omitted of the CFP.
Regardless of lopsided wins the previous two weeks, Notre Dame dropped to No. 10 in final week’s CFP rankings. Miami remained at No. 12, however due to the ACC’s wacky tiebreaker system, Duke (7-5) has an opportunity to play for the ACC championship Saturday, whereas Miami has to sit down and wait till Sunday’s Choice Present at midday.
If BYU (No. 11 within the CFP) beats Texas Tech within the Massive 12 Championship sport, it probably spells doom for the remaining at-large hopefuls. No. 9 Alabama might additionally seize a assured CFP spot with a win over Georgia within the SEC Championship sport. A lopsided Alabama loss could crack the door open for the Irish or Hurricanes.
It’s going to be a nervy Sunday in South Bend and South Seashore.
Making case for Notre Dame soccer in CFP
“Trigger for concern? Cautious optimism? Possibly each,” writes South Bend Tribune columnist Tom Noie.
“Welcome to Notre Dame’s unsure future. Like that, what many figured was a lock ― Notre Dame one of many 12 groups to earn invites to the 2025 School Soccer Playoff ― all of a sudden isn’t. There’s an opportunity Notre Dame could be omitted… The committee likes Notre Dame. It is all the time preferred Notre Dame. You get the sense that it needs Notre Dame within the discipline.
“We predict Notre Dame deserves to be within the 12-team discipline. We predict that Notre Dame is a handful of groups ― perhaps no greater than 5 ― with a professional likelihood to win a nationwide championship. Notre Dame began 0-2, however Notre Dame acquired higher. The protection went from doubtful that evening in South Florida to borderline dominant. Jeremiyah Love grew to become the nation’s greatest operating again.
“(Marcus) Freeman and his workers and his group consider they’re one of the 12 greatest groups within the nation. They’re optimistic ― cautiously so in public, adamant in non-public ― that the choice committee will say the identical. Even with that 0-2 begin, Notre Dame acquired higher, acquired assured and acquired rolling. It didn’t cling to what occurred in Week 1. It went out and made it occur in Weeks 3 to 12.”
Notre Dame’s losses are thought of “good losses”: to Texas A&M (No. 7 in CFP) and Miami. But when we’re giving credit score to Notre Dame for dropping to Miami, why aren’t we giving credit score to Miami for beating Notre Dame?
Simply bizarre.
Making a case for Miami in CFP
“Placing Miami behind Notre Dame is the committee’s first head scratcher. Not look, or precedent. Not when the 2 have the identical report (10-2) and a head-to-head end result: Miami, 27-24,” writes Tom D’Angelo of the Palm Seashore Publish.
“Miami’s spot is extra reflective of being the one group within the high 15 to lose twice to unranked groups (then and now) and beat two groups within the ACC with a profitable report.”
The Hurricanes have received the previous 4 video games by an common rating of 38-10, however cannot shake losses to Louisville and SMU in a three-week span earlier than that.
The large albatross on Alabama’s resume is the season-opening 14-point loss to Florida State. Miami beat FSU, 28-22.
Whereas Miami ranks extremely in a whole lot of superior metrics (ESPN has them No. 7 in FPI and No. 6 in its Recreation Management measurement), it sits at 14th in energy of resumé behind different bubble groups together with BYU, Alabama, Vanderbilt, Texas and Notre Dame. The Hurricanes are additionally forty fourth in energy of schedule, shut behind the No. 42 Irish however considerably farther behind fellow two-loss groups in Vandy (22), OU (12), Bama (11) and Texas (8).
However Notre Dame owns no wins in opposition to top-15 opponents. It feasted on a schedule that included last-place groups from three of the Energy 4 conferences.
“You get to settle it on the sphere, the place head-to-head is all the time the No. 1 standards,” Miami’s Mario Cristobal mentioned.
Apparently not.
When do new CFP rankings come out?
- Date: Sunday, Dec. 7
- Time: Midday ET
The CFP playoff bracket will likely be launched at midday ET on Sunday, Dec. 7.
Palm Seashore Publish sports activities reporter David Rorabaugh contributed to this story.
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